Bloodhunt
by HalloweenJack
Summary: Buffy and crew face possibly the biggest vampire threat yet, while something else has come to town with a few days to kill.
1. Roses really smell like bad, bad, bad

    I own nothing. I admit this. Still I write it pretty well. Joss needs to start a new comic series based on the shows now that they're both ended and let me write it. Oh yeah. This is the nest story after Hell is Where the Heart Is. Enjoy

    "Too…hot…" Buffy said as she lay in bed, sticking to the sheets.

    "Eh. I've felt worse. Brazil is worse." Spike said fresh as a daisy.

    "Not everyone is undead." Buffy replied.

    She wanted to hit him but it was entirely too hot to do so.

    "Would make your job simpler if they were, pet." Spike smirked, moving to light a cigarette.

    Buffy made the effort to smack the cigarette from his hands and sent it across the room. Spike looked at her as if she had gone insane.

    "Have you gone insane?" he asked.

    "No smoking."

    "Well it's not as if it's going to kill me luv. Vampire remember?"

    "Second hand still hurts me, Slayer lungs or not." Buffy replied, climbing out of bed, "You know if we'd just open the window it'd be a little cooler in here."

    "Yeah and while we're at it, let's redecorate with a few crucifixes and some silver in here to go with the sunlight that'll come in and turn yours truly to dust." Spike said, slightly agitated.

    "You can always sleep in the closet." Buffy replied.

    "Uh, no thank you. I've had enough sleeping in small dark spots thank you." Spike stated, "Now how about a shag?"

    "Again?" Buffy asked incredulously.

    "Demonic libido. Can't help it." Spike shrugged.

    "Well call Rosie then. I have to get Dawn up and head to the airport. Today's the day she heads to Scott's out east." Buffy explained.

    "Rosie?"

    Buffy smirked, "Rosie Palm."

    "Bitch."

    "You love it." Buffy said as she headed for the shower, a very cold, icy shower. She wasn't taking one because of her overwhelming desire to jump Spike's bones…well not just that reason. It's just that the last month was hell, literally. There was the battle with the First, the little side trip to Hell, and upon returning the most ungodly heat wave the town of Sunnydale had ever experienced. She was taking the shower to actually keep cool. She shuddered as she stepped into the cold water and then shuddered again when she thought of what normal humans had to go through in this heat. Vampires and most species of demons were okay though, meaning she still had to patrol at night even in this weather. Maybe she'd talk to Willow about casting a spell on the house to make it a nice seventy five degrees constantly. And if Willow wouldn't, she'd work on Tara.

    Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dressed in her outfit of the day and peaked in on Spike. He had gone back to sleep, finally getting back into the groove of being up all night and sleeping through the day like a respectable vampire. Buffy then headed down the hall past her old room (now occupied by Willow, Tara, and Kennedy) and to Dawn's. She opened the door with a creak and saw Dawn lying awake in bed.

    "Couldn't sleep?" Buffy asked.

    "It was too hot." Dawn replied craning her head up and peeling it off the pillow.

    "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Buffy mused.

    "No it's a demon."

    "How do you figure?"

    "It's always a demon."

    "I'll check up on that theory, but for now I'm sticking by the concept that it's the weatherman's fault. Get a shower. Xander will be by to drive us to the airport in about an hour." Buffy ordered.

    "Connor too?" Dawn asked hopefully.

    "Connor too. You're damned lucky that Spike saved enough over the years to buy your boyfriend a plane ticket too." Buffy replied.

    "He's not my boyfriend." Dawn defended.

    "No, he's just a boy that you make out with like a rabbit. Trust me on this one, that's never a good thing." Buffy smirked.

    "Go fry me some eggs or something." Dawn grumbled.

    "Sorry grouchy." Buffy said as she walked down the hall and downstairs to the kitchen. She put some extra eggs on ( knowing Xander'd probably come by and attempt eat them out of house and home) and started some coffee (Kennedy needed a few cups to wake up. Still it made her a pain). Turning, she walked to the front door to get the newspaper as she drank a cup. Opening the door and glancing down she saw a single black rose resting atop her newspaper. She dropped the coffee cup and stared blankly at the flower. It was time.

June 2002

    The summer had been pretty boring to be honest. Giles had taken Willow off to England to help her with her problem. Spike had disappeared…good riddance too, and Anya was off doing what Vengeance Demons do. Buffy still had to adjust to the fact that Tara had died. It was a sharp blow that the person she considered her confidante, the one person she had revealed the truth about her relationship with Spike to before it all came out, was dead. It was just Buffy, Dawnie, and Xander. And things were getting better.

    She didn't feel as empty as she had before. Being open about her feelings had really helped her to work past her memories of Heaven…or wherever she had gone when she died. She and Dawn were getting along so much better now, even taking her on patrol sometimes. Xander was there for her, just as he always was. Buffy smiled and thought that if she had given him a shot with her years ago she would never have been hurt. Not like when Angel left, not like when Riley did the same, or…no, she did not even like Spike much less care about him like that.

    It was boring patrol nights like this when she imagined calling Willow and Giles in England or going to L.A. to see whatever it was Angel was up to. Knowing him he was probably in some small, cramped, dark place brooding. Still it would be good to see him. She sighed and walked along through the graveyard she was patrolling and…vampire!

    Instantly, she withdrew her stake and dusted the vampire to her right before it even got close. He had to be a fledgling; otherwise she would've had a few minutes of kung fu fighting on her hands before he could fit in an ashtray. Still, she had to appreciate these new ones. They're much easier to slay than a Big Bad.

    When she heard clapping, Buffy's eyes rolled and she turned. She almost expected to see Dracula clapping there like when they had met the first time. Buffy was never really one to jump back, but what she saw there made her flinch for the briefest of instances.

    "Okay, definitely not Dracula." She said.

    What stood in front of her was a large red-skinned demon…or vampire…because it had large fangs protruding from its mouth. It was large and muscular with large horns on its head and it wore few clothes. Most of its powerful body was exposed. It had an appreciative smile on its face.

    "Excellent…"

    "…kill I know. I ran through this with Dracula a few years ago and I'd rather we just fight than exchange witty dialogue." Buffy sighed holding her stake ready.

    The demon-vampire-thing laughed slightly and walked back to sit against a tombstone.

    "Not yet." The thing said.

    "Excuse me? What do you mean not yet? You look red, not yellow." Buffy stated.

    "The battle would be over far too quickly if we fought now." The thing replied.

    "Sorry, I don't like long drawn out fights. I like the simple, I stake you, you turn to dust deal. Or slime….whatever. Are you a vampire or a demon? Because that would really help me out, knowing whether you're going to explode into Jello, so I can stand behind a tomb or something." Buffy asked.

    "I'm a vampire." The creature said simply.

    With that statement, Buffy knew she was in trouble. Vampires get uglier the older they got. She had fought too older ones in the Master and Kakistos and they were each more than a handful. And this guy looked like Tim Curry in Legend. Buffy had to keep talking though. She to keep him off guard.

    "Gee, what with the horns and the red skin I would have figured you for…oh say….Satan!" Buffy said in a quick Church Lady imitation.

    "You're wittier than the last Slayer I killed. Of course that was in the Eleven Hundreds." The creature replied, standing at a full and imposing height.

    "Yeah, not so much with the conversations back then were they? I'm glad we had that whole women's lib thing." Buffy replied to it.

    "As am I. It makes things so much more interesting."

    "Lovely. Let's fight."

    "No." the creature said again.

    "Come on. I hear Slayer's blood is quite the aphrodisiac. Kill me and bottle it and you could be the Calvin Klein of the demon world." Buffy said, trying to provoke anger that she could exploit.

    "I'm not really all that interested in your blood. Still the offer was dually noted." The creature said, unmoving from its standing position.

    "So what are you interested in then?" Buffy asked.

    "Just the challenge. That's all." It said.

    "You sound like someone I used to know. His name was Spike. I kicked his ass." Buffy stated.

    "Ah, William the Bloody. The child has potential once he grows past his infancy. I never met him of course, but he has quite the reputation around the world. As do you." It continued.

    "Yeah, Dracula told me this. Now how do you want to go? Stake or decapitation? I mean either way's fine by me."

    "Child, as you stand right now I can predict what maneuvers you will throw. I can counter your first move just as you begin to perform it. You are nothing to me, as of now."

    "I bet you say that to all your victims." Buffy replied.

    "No, just the ones I know can be better. I am over five thousand years old and immortality becomes so tiring sometimes. The fire of youth extinguishes after time and it is so hard to find pleasure. I used to find pleasure in killing mortals. That faded after my first millennia. Then I turned to killing demons. That was fun but it too became tiresome. Being worshipped as a god was fun for a time, but I never really found true pleasure until I killed my first Slayer, a Grecian woman by the name of Xena. Unfortunately she seemed to be one of a kind amongst your breed. A childe of Akasha needs more to occupy himself." The creature stated.

    "Akasha." Buffy said murmuring the name that Giles had drilled into her head so many times before.

    "The mother of all vampires. Perhaps the eldest of our kind, older than even Varnae. I see you know the name."

    "She was your sire?" Buffy asked.

    "She was, back when I was a lowly servant called Uther." The creature replied.

    "So what's your name now?" Buffy replied.

    "Bacchus." The creature replied.

    "The god of wine, Bacchus?" Buffy asked.

    "It would be interesting to find out now wouldn't it?" Bacchus smiled.

    "Not really, I hate research. Let's fight." Buffy said in frustration.

    "You are no match for me as of now. It's a pity as well because I had heard you were in Xena's league. Not many Slayers can say they have killed two ancient vampires, stopped various Apocalypses and even an Ascension. I find myself rather disappointed at you though. I have studied you since you returned from the grave and I find you're nothing. A shell of your potential. You're beneath me as of now." Bacchus said.

    Buffy instantly leapt forward, driving Mr. Pointy towards the chest of Bacchus. She connected with air and turned to see the vampire standing behind her.

    "It was child's play to avoid that thrust. Do you see what I mean?" Bacchus asked, sighing, "I had really hoped you'd be something."

    "Oh I am something. I'm just having a bad day." Buffy growled.

    "A bad year from my observations. I was starting to give up on you, until these past few weeks when I saw you were getting better. I'd like to think that you'll continue to improve and become better because I want you at your best. When you get there, perhaps I will drop by and send you my regards. To be sporting I'll leave a calling card so you can prepare. A single black rose."

    "Gee thanks." Buffy growled.

    "It is the least I can do. Please, don't make this too boring. I crave the challenge you see. " Bacchus smirked as he began to walk away. Before Buffy could protest he had blurred away, leaving her to contemplate the events.

June 2003

    Buffy stood agape, and shook off the memories. She had never told anyone about that night, thinking "Bacchus" was just some crazy demon who tried to rattle the Slayer. She now realized that she was wrong. Bacchus was here in Sunnydale and gunning for her. She had to be ready. She would be. She would meet his challenge and turn it back.

    Elsewhere in Sunnydale, a lone Fyarll demon stumbled out of its cave. It was hungry and had to go hunting since Willy's was still pretty much out of commission with the latest guy to blow through town ripping it up. There were always other bars of course. Still the creature grumbled and headed out into the woods for food. Soon, its sense of smell paid off as it followed its nose to the edge of a playground and saw several succulent children playing.

    Licking its lips, the Fyarll prepared to move out of the forest and onto the playground to snatch up a few of the tasty little morsels. Then it caught a new scent. Something else wafting on the air. Something it had never smelled before. It then heard a sound. It was almost like the sound of a cicada during the evening only much louder, much deeper. The demon looked around, turning its horned head in each direction before looking down at something on its hand.

    It cocked its head and raised its hand, three red dots on it, following his limb after he raised it. The dots then traveled to the demon's chest as it looked up and saw…something clear in the tree.

    "What the hell?" the Fyarll asked.

    "What the hell?" came a response from the tree, though distorted.

    Seconds later, a lone child could swear he saw a bright light in the forest when he looked to it. He then dismissed it and went back to playing on the jungle gym, while in the forest a great something leapt down from the tree branch it had been perched on and dragged the body of the Fyarll off by its ram horns, with a freshly burned hole in its chest. The deeper cicada sounds continued as it was dragged away. All in one instant, a creature preparing to prey had become prey itself. Also its head would make a nice trophy.


	2. Okay, so I goofed

    "So that's the situation." Buffy winced as she finished her story.

    The looks on the faces around her ranged from blank to furious to frightened.

    "This doesn't interfere with my trip to New York does it?" Dawn asked hopefully.

    "No you're still going to hang out with the mutant people. I think it's in your best interests to get out of town right now. I don't even want to risk him hurting someone I love." Buffy said, getting more weird looks, "That you know, can't fight back."

    "I can fight back! I'll teleport his head off ten times out of ten!" Dawn exclaimed.

    Buffy arched an eyebrow.

    "Well Scott said his friend Kurt could do stuff like that." Dawn explained.

    "Still Dawnie, I think it's in your best interests to get out while the getting's good." Tara chimed in.

    "Hey! I can't fight back! Anybody forget the Xan Man? No powers guy right here! At least Kennedy has fighting skills." Xander said.

    "I'm going to need you on tactical here Xan. You're always good at that." Buffy stated.

    "So I'm key guy again?" Xander said hopeful.

    "Key guy?" Spike asked.

    "It was a whole graduation thing." Buffy explained.

    "Sounds like Dawn should sue you for copyright infringement." Spike mused.

    "Quiet there, Key Guy's talking again." Xander smirked.

    "So Key Guy, can you drive Key Girl to the airport?" Buffy asked.

    "Now? With the Big Bad out there running around?" Xander asked, swallowing.

    "Her flight leaves in an hour and a half. Also it's daytime." Buffy added.

    "Oh plus Connor will be with us!" Dawn chimed in.

    "I think I should stay. You might need me. Plus this sounds fun." Connor grunted.

    "No. I need you with Dawn. This guy kills me, he might go after her or have agents that can go out in the light to abduct her on the way to the airport. You have to protect Dawn, Connor." Buffy explained carefully.

    Connor grunted in agreement after a long silence and started towards the door, "Let's go."

    "Well….bye!" Dawn said scrambling after him.

    "Well, they're not really for goodbyes are they?" Xander asked before sighing and following the two teens, "Great, I have to drive Dawn and Dead Boy version 2.0 to the airport. Peachy."

    Buffy quickly turned to the others as they exited.

    "Okay, here's the deal, Wills you and Kennedy are on research duty. Xander's with you when he gets back. Tara, Spike and I will go on patrol tonight. The three of us are more equipped to take this guy on if he shows up. Tara, I want you to keep in constant mental contact with Willow so you can alert her if we need her because I get the feeling we will." Buffy ordered.

    "Right. I'll also have Poe keep an eye out for any nasties coming our way that match the description of our guy." Tara added.

    "Good idea. Spike, get a blanket and go out in your car and hit all the demon haunts in town. Guy as big and bad as this one has to have a serious rep. Find out all you can." Buffy said as Spike instinctively headed for the closet to get his affectionately named "Day Blankie".

    "I get to crack heads?" Spike asked.

    "If you get the urge to apply some pressure, apply it." Buffy replied.

    Spike smirked evilly and put the blanket over his head as he ran out the door to his Desoto, smoking and cursing all the way. Buffy laughed slightly because that never quits being funny at all. She turned back to find Kennedy, scowling as usual.

    "So why didn't you bring all this stuff up earlier?" Kennedy asked, arms crossed.

    "I didn't think it was important. That's why." Buffy said to her.

    "Oh okay, big evil vampire that looks like Satan tells you that he wants to kill you and you never bother to tell anyone he might be after you. Okay, I got it." Kennedy said.

    "My bad. I guess I forgot what with all the other big evil demons trying to kill me week in and week out. And oh yeah, the First screwing with our heads for the better part of six months. You take things one step at a time in Sunnydale." Buffy replied a little agitated.

    "Yet you still have this one saying he was going to come at you at a future date and there's not a word?" Kennedy asked, taking a step forward.

    "Yeah. Wanna know something kooky? When they say they'll get you at sometime in the future they usually mean some distant date. Like the First. It first came up on our radar FOUR YEARS ago and not a peep of it was heard until it started torturing Spike. Besides the thing looked a lot like a demon that one of the Trio disguised themselves as when I was getting hot on their trail. That would explain the being quicker than me thing too as things got wonky when they were around. I wasn't exactly shaking in my boots at the prospects of crossing swords with Andrew and Jonathan at the time." Buffy defended.

    "It was still stupid. You should have said something." Kennedy growled.

    "And I did. I brought it up again when it became relevant like we always do it. I've come through before with a lot less casualties than most people would in my position. So until you lose the word "Potential" at the beginning I'M the Slayer. Got it?" Buffy said.

    "Got it." Kennedy growled.

    "Lose the growl, you're not impressing anyone." Buffy ordered, "Now I think we should also give Principal Wood…Robin…a call. He's fought vamps longer than any of us. He was raised by a Watcher. Maybe he's heard of this Bacchus guy."

    "I'll hit the books that Giles left behind for us. Maybe I'll give him a call too, just to know where to start. Kennedy, give me some help?" Willow asked, trying to prevent Kennedy and Buffy from coming to blows. That was a fight that Kennedy could NOT win.

    "I'm not built for research." Kennedy scowled before softening, "But I'll give it a shot for you."

    "I'll be right there too." Tara said.

    "Oh." Buffy said quietly.

    "U-Unless there was something you wanted me to do." Tara said to Buffy.

    "I thought we'd spar. Work on your thrust kicks." Buffy said.

    "Thrust kicks. I bet a guy came up with all these moves." Tara mused.

    "And surprise, surprise most of those guys were monks who never had sex."

    "It all makes sense now."

    "You lying, cheating, kitten stealing bastard!" a particularly pissed off Chaos demon growled, as it slammed Clem up against a wall.

    "Cheat?! I resent that tone. I never cheat." Clem defended as best he could.

    Several cards fell out of the folds of his loose skin. Clem laughed slightly as the larger, stronger, foul smelling, mucus covered, antlered demon pulled a fist back and prepared to take Clem's head off.

    "Never cheat huh?" the Chaos demon growled.

    "Well maybe once or twice." Clem said closing his eyes.

    "Now, now, I wouldn't try that. It might make Clem even uglier. Doubtful but hey, there's the possibility." Spike said, throwing down his smoking blanket as the bar doors closed behind him.

    "Spike! Oh thank you Allah! And you too Jesus….Buddha too…and the Pestilent Gods. Mustn't forget them." Clem sighed in relief before the Chaos demon tossed him across the room to the pool table.

    The Chaos demon eyed Spike for a moment and growled. Its eyes showed recognition.

    "I know you don't I? Well, well, so THIS is the Spike who turned against his kind to become the Slayer's lapdog." The Chaos demon said, "If I would have known you would have turned out like that I would've staked you back in Brazil when I stole your woman."

    Clem sat up and immediately rolled off the pool table and peeped over the top. Someone had just made the mistake of insulting Spike. Twice. Spike merely smiled and walked to the bar, pulling up a seat.

    "The usual, Dave." Spike said to the bartender.

    "Didn't you hear me Blondie? I was talking to you." The Chaos demon said walking to the bar.

    "I heard you. I'm just giving you the time to get out of the bar before I finish my drink and tear your head off." Spike said as his mug of blood was placed before him.

    "Well I think that being with the Slayer's maybe cut you down a notch. That it… what's the word I'm looking for? ...Castrated you." The demon smiled.

    Spike merely continued to drink his blood.

    "Tends to be the general impression, mate. Tends to be the wrong one too, but I'm a might more patient now that I have a soul." Spike smiled as he drank from his mug.

    "A soul too huh? Well just when you didn't think you could become a bigger freak you go and do it. You have a soul, kill your own kind, and lost your woman to me. What was her name?" the Chaos demon said, laughing a bit with his friends.

    "It was Drusilla." Spike explained.

    "Yeah, Drusilla. Man she was a good lay. Really easy too. I guess she wasn't getting what she needed at home. What's the matter, Spike? Souls make you go limp or do humans just like it easy?" the demon laughed.

    Spike's hand shot out, gripping it by the antlers and slamming its head into the bar repeatedly. Spike was off his stool in the next instant, throwing the demon into the wall across the room. The antlers stuck in the wall as Spike picked up his stool and slammed them over them. The Chaos demon squealed in pain as its antlers were shattered. Spike then dropped the stool and vamped out, throwing the demon into the bar on the other side of the room. Approaching, he grabbed the demon by its jacket and growled.

    "First things first then, right? I got the soul last year, so I couldn't have rightly had it in Brazil five years ago could I? Secondly, Spike is NO ONE'S lapdog. Not Angelus's, not the Slayer's, and sure as hell not yours. Third, I know Dru never did more than make out with you on a park bench, otherwise your slime would have been in her unmentionable parts. Lastly, never mock a man's manhood or you lose yours. I reckon it'll be hard for you to find a mate without your horns huh? You could always go poofter though. Now get out of my sight." Spike roared, tossing the demon yet again. It landed with a dull thud, before crawling out of the bar as fast as it could.   
    "That was great Spike! Simply fantastic! Amazing! Stupendous!" Clem said running up.

    "You ever cheat at kitten poker again and I have to bail you out you'll find out why I'm called Spike." The vampire spat.

    "…Buy you another drink?" Clem asked.

    Spike pondered it, before reverting to his human features, "Okay. You can also tell me about any new arrivals to town. The Slayer's just dying to know."

    "You haven't heard?!" Clem asked.

    "Well I heard a new vamp was in town. Really old. It looks more like your standard issue Redhorn. " Spike said.

    "Oh Spike, my man, you haven't heard half of it!"

    "Two of them?!" Buffy asked, hours later.

    "That's what he said. Bacchus and another newbie that blew into town two nights back. Seems our second boy has been tearing into whatever demon he's come into contact with. Some are missing heads, some are missing skins." Spike replied.

    "Okay, that's big on the gross factor." Buffy said, "But hey, less demons for me to slay."

    "Well, yeah but word is our boy's gone after particularly impressive human specimens too. So I'd keep Kennedy and our wonderful friend Mr. Wood inside." Spike growled.

    "Still mad at him huh?" Buffy asked.

    "He tried to kill me for doing his mum in. Considering I haven't killed him yet I'm being surprisingly lenient." Spike admitted.

    "That wasn't you that did that." Buffy said.

    "It was me, but I know you don't want to believe that." Spike explained.

    "So I choose not to. Besides, she was a Slayer. You were a vampire, it's…"

    "Nature?"

    "…in the job. You're different now. You're sorry. That's all I know. It's all I want to know." Buffy said, before kissing him.

    "You're insane Slayer, but then again it's why I love you." Spike mused after the kiss.

    "So how are we coming along with the research?" Buffy said as she walked downstairs to the dining room with Spike in tow.

    "We're doing fine I guess. Though there are more demons in here than I've ever heard of or seen." Robin Wood said as he looked at a picture, "Though from the looks of things I never want to run into a Skallath demon."

    "Skoolath. It's a common mispronunciation." Willow corrected leafing through a book.

    "My mistake. I guess I'm just not the research type." Robin said.

    "That's what I said, but here I am too." Kennedy sighed.

    "Hey, I'll have you know that research time is very important to the Scooby Gang." Xander scolded.

    "Good. You can help." Tara said as she handed a particularly thick volume to Xander.

    "I said it was very important, not that I do it. Key Guy here remember?" Xander questioned.

    Poe squawked on Tara's shoulder making her giggle.

    "Yes. He is." Tara replied to her bird.

    "Okay what did he say about me?" Xander asked, "Fess up Heckle."

    "Please tell me you've kept your sanity all through this." Buffy asked Willow.

    "Are you kidding? I love research!" Willow smiled.

    "So obviously not." Buffy sighed.

    "What?"

    "Nothing. What have you got?" Buffy asked peering over Willow's shoulder.

    "Not a whole lot we don't already know. He's old and apparently wasn't lying about Akasha being his sire. Though a lot of what you hear about Akasha is myth thought up by Anne Rice." Willow stated.

    "Kind of makes you wonder how many vamps went after Lestat after supplying her info for the books and the movies." Buffy said.

    "Probably none since most of what he told her were exaggerations." Willow replied.

    "Brad Pitt was cute in the movie though." Buffy admitted.

    "Okay off track here. We need to get back on track."

    "My bad. Go on."

    "Akasha wasn't the first vampire, but was probably one of THE first of them. So Bacchus here is going to be really old. Older than even the Master."

    "Great, not only does he look like Darkness, but he's also higher up on the power scale than the only guy to really rattle me." Buffy sighed, "Is he a god like he claims?"

    "No, but he was worshipped as one. He took the name Bacchus when he took over one of the cults devoted to Bacchus or Dionysus as he was known in Greece. The name just stuck." Willow explained.

    "So no godhood?"

    "Nope, he's just really powerful and immortal…well I guess a case for godhood could be made."

    "Anything I could use against him?" Buffy asked, feeling her chances dwindling.

    "This book doesn't really mention any real weaknesses outside the usual vampire ones. Barring getting him out into the sun, I'd go for decapitation. If we still had the Magic Box I could just try to make that artificial sunlight bomb again." Willow said.

    "No, no. That way leads only to trolls and broken arms for Xander." Buffy said.

    "Oh, here's another thing. He's really good at killing Slayers." Willow said, reading a passage from the book in her hands.

    "Oh really?" Spike asked, suddenly interested.

    Robin just looked over at him with a familiar scowl, and looked to be ready to say something.

    "Down boys." Buffy ordered before looking back to Willow, "I'm so glad I didn't tell him that Bacchus admired his work."

    Willow was pale as a ghost as she read from the book, "This is bad. This is really bad."

    "What is it?" Buffy asked.

    "Well, by last count Bacchus killed….." Willow trailed off.

    "How many Slayers?" Buffy asked as the room went totally silent.

    "Forty Seven." Willow said, clenching her teeth.

    Xander's jaw dropped, "Holy shit!"

    "I think you said it." Robin added.

    "M-Maybe we'd better get out of town." Tara propositioned.

    "No." Buffy said quietly.

    "Whoa. He's killed that many and you're still going to take him on?" Kennedy asked, dumbfounded and now very afraid of this guy.

    "It's what I do." Buffy explained, though she was still very quiet.

    "The Slayer's right. She's not one to run and it wouldn't matter if she did anyways. This guy is an ancient vampire. It's hard enough to shake me when I don't want to be shaken and this guy has a few thousand years on me. Running wouldn't help." Spike noted.

    "Maybe we should call in Angel again! I mean he's been helping us a lot since the thing with the First. Or maybe you can call Dawn when she lands in New York and have your cousin Scott and some of his friends come on out." Willow said.

    "Hey, I've got Faith's number. Maybe she can come back with those Saint guys she was talking about when I saw her the last time." Xander explained.

    "Or maybe even call Giles. I know the new Council is just starting to be put together, but they may have stuff on this guy if he's as old as these books say." Willow added again.

    "We could give that a shot. No Scott and no Angel though." Buffy stated.

    "Why not?" Robin asked, "I mean in a situation like this wouldn't it be smart to get all the help we can?"

    "It's no big." Buffy mused.

    "No big? He's killed forty seven Slayers." Robin said, mouth agape, "I know you're good Buffy but that's ungodly."

    "We've handled huge messes here without having to go for help. Scott and Angel have their own problems. We give it a shot our way first. If we need help, then we call it in when there are no other options, understand?" Buffy asked everyone.

    Spike and a few others nodded.

    "Okay then, Xander are you off work today?" Buffy asked.

    "Yeah. We finished renovating the movie theater yesterday. We're waiting for our next job." Xander explained.

    "Good. Drive Willow to L.A."

    "Why am I going to L.A?" Willow asked.

    "Magick supplies. We've been deprived since you and Giles blew up the Magic Box." Buffy stated.

    "Oh that's no big. I can just open a portal to New York and get some from Stephen. Hey he might even have some information on Bacchus."

    "You can do that now?" Spike asked.

    "Yeah! At first I could only do it to closer places like L.A. but Stephen's shown me some cool new tricks." Willow smiled.

    "You know, I wish this would have come up when I bought the Bit and her little boyfriend plane tickets." Spike growled.

    "Xander, that frees you up to go to the S-Mart to pick up some supplies." Buffy said.

    "Okay, so what am I getting?"

    "A water gun; a really big honkin' water gun." Buffy said, "Just hurry back and avoid the demon parts of town. And while you're at it start thinking about our other boy. Remember people we have two new demons in town and we've just been talking about one of them."

    "So that means…" Kennedy's face dropped.

    "More research." Buffy grinned evilly as she picked up Willow's heavy volume and dropped it in front of Kennedy.

    "I really need to move out." Kennedy groaned.


	3. Forged in the Heat of Battle

    His sleep was blissful. He remembered his life in such vivid detail, right from the great rush of energy he felt the moment his fangs tore into the neck of a woman at the palace up to when he returned to this town for the Slayer. He smiled as he thought of the battle to come.

    She had become so powerful that she had slain the First Evil. Yes there were those who said the First was slain by Warlock or that the First was still alive. But Bacchus knew that the Slayer, his Slayer had done it. Whispers through the demon world said it. Demons had always been wary of the Slayer but those that believed that she had killed the First were now absolutely terrified of her. It was said that she could not be killed. That she was a goddess. Some demons were even turning to worship her as such.

    It was irony at its best. She was just like Xena. The Xena, who in a time when women were seen as little more than property, had led men into battle to live and die for her. The Xena who had challenged the son of Zeus himself. The Xena who was the most favored paramour of the god of war himself. The Xena who was unfortunately best remembered by a horrible television show and not the glorious legends of her. Bacchus winced at that.

    The program had some glimmers of truth to it, but was mostly a crock of shit. It was much like the one about Hercules. Myths were taken out of context and made more politically correct. Characters that had lived a thousand years before, like Goliath, or a thousand years later, like Caesar were used. Hercules was not a shining knight who helped the helpless. That was his comrade in the Avengers, Captain America. Hercules was a boozing, whoring, oaf who loved to fight. That's why he did what he did. Like Hercules, the Xena of the television show and the Xena of reality were much different.

    Xena was indeed a tall, statuesque woman with raven hair and blue eyes. She did wield a chakram that could kill gods. But the rest, the rest was what was so different. She was a lowly war orphan. Her father and brothers had been killed in a campaign when she was but a child. Even then she had shown the makings of a warrior. Her father had made sure she knew how to use a dagger at a young age. Some men could just not be trusted.

    When her father and brothers died, she ran away from home because she knew it would only be a matter of time before someone tried to take her home from her mother. She knew that her mother would probably be raped and killed and she right after her. She could fight of course, but the result would be the same so why bother?

    She lived as a thief for years, wandering from town to town. On one such occasion when she was an old maid…fourteen or so… she was fallen upon by a creature with yellow eyes and razor fangs. She had often heard stories of these creatures. They were dead men who rose from their graves to feed on blood. The ones that were buried without coins so Charon would not ferry them to the other side. Xena struggled with the creature and killed it with her walking staff.

    Xena then began to notice things about her were different. She was easily stronger than any men in the villages she visited. She also had a certain sixth sense that alerted her when the wandering dead were around; while they wore the faces they had in life.

    Sometimes she would come to a village plagued by the wandering dead and would provide services to rid the towns of them. For a price of course. She was no fool. And so her fame grew. Eventually, groups of the dead came for her because of this. And they never knew her as Xena. They always called her just one name; Slayer.

    Once she was overwhelmed and beaten down by a group of the things and that's when her life changed forever. As she lay down being beaten by a mob of the dead she had a vision. A powerful man in a horned helmet with black armor and a cape that seemed to shine radiantly stood before her. He was glorious and at once, Xena knew he was a god. He spoke to her and offered her a choice.

    "Die and be nothing. Leave nothing. Accept me and become mine and I will give you a great reward. You will be general of my armies and in time, queen of all you survey."

    Xena would be an idiot to say no at that point. When she agreed, the wandering dead were set ablaze and the god appeared before her again and outstretched his hand. Xena took it and in that moment became the property of Ares, god of war.

    Ares took her and trained her in his own way before any of the human Watchers could find her and train her their way. They wanted a Slayer, he wanted something entirely different. He wanted a Warrior Princess. He taught her about the application of Ki energy. He taught her swordplay. He taught her how to cut the flow of blood off from the brain by using pressure points. He taught her how to behave in bed. He trained her hard, and at times believed she would not endure it.

    But she did. The training went on, day by day until she was eighteen. That is when Ares sent her into the world as his emissary. And he gifted her with her throwing blade, the chakram. The weapon that could kill a god, as some of those would try and stop her.

    Armies were raised in the name of Ares and they blanketed Greece and the surrounding areas. Villages were burned and one particular girl was left an orphan and became Xena's greatest foe, Callisto. Sparta bowed to Xena and pledged allegiance to her. Xena crossed swords with the Kherabum known as Zealot in this time, spawning another rival. Xena took on a bard called Gabrielle to sing her praises. The Warrior Princess had the world in her hand and Ares smiled down upon her.

    Until HE came. Hercules was the one bold enough, the one stubborn enough to never bow to Xena. So they battled. And battled. And battled. Xena found herself greatly attracted to the son of Zeus, something that irked Ares to no end. But all of this was immaterial and unimportant. What was important was the day she died.

    Bacchus smiled in his sleep as he remembered. Xena had to be twenty seven, kept safe from the usual early death of the Slayer by Ares and by her armies afterwards. Her campaign went forward into lands best left alone. Her armies raped and slaughtered an envoy of Bacchus worshippers, maidens known as Bacchae. Maidens that were promised to Bacchus. They were his prime food source.

    This brought Bacchus into opposition with Xena. It was ironic really. A Slayer who was chosen by a god to be his champion versus a vampire who usurped a few cults from another god. Though, Xena had punished those who were responsible she had no intention or apologizing to or backing away from anyone who claimed to be a god, unless it was Ares. So they fought.

    Her sword met his claws and sparks flew. Xena flipped in the air, shouting her battle cry. She brought the sword down slicing the tip of Bacchus's horn. Bacchus grabbed her wrist and squeezed until blood flowed from it. Then he threw her into a tree. Undaunted, Xena rose and charged again acting as if she was about to slash him with her sword, but dropping it at the last second and striking his neck several times with her hands. Bacchus backed away slowly, his neck in slight pain. Xena smiled.

    "The blood has been cut off from your brain."

    "So it has." Bacchus replied with a toothy grin as he punched Xena hard.

    Xena flipped in mid-air and did back handstands until she finally stopped. Xena's attack had failed, proving that this creature was indeed at least a god. Or at least so she thought. Xena never knew the mechanics of vampires as she was taught by Ares instead of the Watcher's Council. The blood of a vampire flows so minutely through the body that it is as if their heart doesn't beat at all. She really did no damage whatsoever.

    Still she had no idea that this was a vampire. It was a god, and gods she could kill. Xena unleashed her mighty chakram and watched with a smile as it slammed into the chest of Bacchus and stuck there. She was very disappointed when he didn't explode like most gods did. Bacchus merely pulled the chakram out and threw it to the ground. Then he charged.

    Xena leapt over him and pulled a dagger from her side and put it in the back of his skull. Bacchus turned just as she did and violently backhanded her. She rolled and sent a savage kick to his mid-section which he merely absorbed. Bacchus threw another blow, which Xena grabbed and turned behind his back. She grunted and with all her strength broke his right arm. Bacchus threw his head back, the handle of the dagger slamming into her brow. It swelled up and bled but Xena just wiped the blood away. Then she sent her foot into his crotch at amazing speeds making him double over in pain.

    Xena gripped his horns and sent her knee rocketing into his nose breaking it as well. With a roar of force, Bacchus sent her flying with a head butt. Xena fought her way up flipping Bacchus as he approached her from behind. He was up in the bat of an eye and savagely bit into her shoulder. Xena roared in pain and put a thumb into one of his eyes gouging it out. She pulled away and grabbed her sword and ran Bacchus through with it. Bacchus spit her own blood into her face and backhanded her with his good arm. He pulled the sword out and lashed out at her with it. She dodged the attack and kicked the blade, breaking it as it stuck into the ground.

    Xena backed up, her men cheering her on as she fought this creature in single combat. She focused and began shouting her battle cry again as a blast of Ki issued forth from her hands. Bacchus ducked it and used all of his preternatural strength to move forward before she get off another shot. He gored her viciously with his horns and took her to the ground pushing them in deeper. The Warrior Princess cursed in pain and pulled the dagger from the back of Bacchus's head and stabbed it down, again and again into his skull. Bacchus stood and threw Xena from his horns with a roar of pure animal passion.

    The more blood of this woman that was spilled, the more he wanted her. She was amazing and her smell could only be that of a Slayer. Still, she was his enemy. And she would have to die. Bacchus strode forward and stomped her bleeding mid-section with authority. Xena cursed at him in pain and then laughed as she brought her hands together and sent a Ki blast into his face. Flesh was seared and burned away at an alarming speed and his horns caught fire. Bacchus staggered away and put the fire out, leaving blackened skin barely hanging on his skull and leaving his remaining eye lidless.

    Xena rose, holding her stomach, trying to block out the pain and hold her intestines in. Bacchus stared at her, horribly mutilated. Xena stood facing the creature before with a look on her face that said even if he killed her, he would never truly DEFEAT her. And in that moment, Bacchus loved her. She was single-handedly tearing down millennia of boredom with her defiance.

    Finally, Xena listened to the buzzing in her skull that was not concussion, but her long repressed Slayer senses telling her that this creature was one of the wandering dead. Xena grinned and knew exactly how to kill it now. A shaft of wood to the heart always sent those things to Tartarus. She looked around and saw her chance. They were doing battle in a vineyard, and nearby were a grouping of trees.

    Carefully, Xena positioned herself in front of the trees so as not to call suspicion to her plan. Her chakram lay at her feet. She knew how she had to play this. She put her foot under the edge and kicked it up into the air, grabbing it there and throwing it at Bacchus. Bacchus dodged it with ease and charged, as was Xena's intention.

    She waited until the last instant and jumped into the air as high as she could, flipping over Bacchus and kicking him as well. Bacchus stumbled forwards into the tree, his head impacting with it as Xena caught her chakram on its return. With a loud scream, she threw it again, slicing off a small tree branch. Running forward she caught the branch as it fell and caught her returning chakram again. She thrust at Bacchus and nearly hit her mark, but he pulled back at the last second.

    Cursing, Xena swung her chakram like a sword and slashed Bacchus's throat. Bacchus struck back, raking his claws across her chest. Xena roared and jammed the makeshift stake at Bacchus's chest. Bacchus brought his hand down at the last second and pushed the stake into his chest JUST BELOW HIS HEART. He grabbed Xena and threw her across the field. She didn't flip anymore. She just rolled, but she still rose. Bacchus walked slowly, methodically for her.

    With her men cheering her on and the pain finally taking its toll, Xena let a few tears of agony roll down her face. She then smiled and remembered another way to kill one of the walking dead. Take their head. Her fingers closed on her chakram and she was confident she could take his head in one strike, or at least take enough of it to give him pause so she could take the rest.

    Bacchus saw her fingers tighten on her chakram and he knew what she was up to. With his good arm he reached down and lifted the remains of her sword. Xena turned and threw her chakram with her battle cry sounding more loudly than ever.

    It turned to a wet gurgle as soon as she saw her chakram spark against the sword in Bacchus's hand. Her greatest weapon hit the blade and rebounded back at her, imbedding itself in her chest. Blood came from her mouth as she fell and began to slowly lie down, struggling for air. Her men grew silent when this happened.

    Bacchus walked towards her and knelt beside her, gripped her neck savagely with a grip that could crumble marble. He then relented and kissed her passionately on the lips. He then sank his teeth into her neck and drank from her as she lay dying. For a moment, Bacchus considered turning her right there. She could be his for eternity, an eternity with this one who in acts of hatred had given him more love than he had ever experienced before, even from his sire.

     But no, he decided to let her die. Ares would be angry that she was dead, but she died in honorable combat and would bare him no malice for that. If he turned her though, Ares would destroy them both for daring to take something that was his. And though Bacchus claimed to be a god, he could not hope to ever best Ares, even with this woman as his childe. So Bacchus merely drank and looked to her men. Any second now, he was sure that they would attack. But they didn't because he saw the form of Ares standing in front of them scowling directly at him. Bacchus could swear her saw one tear on the god of war's cheek. Then Ares merely ordered the army away.

    One girl stayed. A blonde who didn't look the part of a warrior. She looked to be a bard. She slowly walked forward with tears in her eyes and grabbed Xena's discarded, ruined sword and tried to wield it. Bacchus would have laughed, but he saw that this girl too loved his victim. So he held it in and rose, his wounds already rapidly repairing themselves thanks to drinking the blood of the Slayer.

    The blonde girl shouted and attacked. Bacchus effortlessly sidestepped her and knocked the blade from her hands. He thought of breaking her neck, but then reconsidered it when he saw she carried several scrolls on her belt.

    "I'll let you live for one reason, bard." Bacchus stated, "Write what you have seen here today. Let them all know what happened and how gloriously this Slayer died. Let them all know that she fought tooth and nail until the end."

    The girl cursed him over and over, before falling to her knees crying. Bacchus looked away from her and to the body of Xena before reaching down and pulling the chakram from her chest. He smiled and licked the blood from the chakram and returned to his temple to rest.

    The girl, Gabrielle, did write down what had happened and sealed all of her scrolls of Xena's deeds in a cavern where they would be undisturbed until the nineteen thirties. And years after that the idiot grandson of the man who discovered them would sell them for a few thousand dollars to a film company, who would bastardize her adventures so they could cash in on their successful Hercules series. Bacchus killed many Slayers since then but he never loved them like he loved Xena. There were none like her, until perhaps now.

    Bacchus awoke from his sleep in the old church that he had chosen to make his residence in Sunnydale. He looked to his side and caressed the chakram of Xena that lay beside him. He smiled.

    "I love you still."  


	4. Hunters or Hunted?

    "Sometimes I wonder why we even bother."

    The black car sped down the highway at amazing speeds, giving the occupants little chance to observe the scenery as they moved through the desert night. There were only two passengers inside. One was a middle aged white male who was balding slightly and was also driving. The other was a younger black man around his early thirties with much shorter hair and an earring. Both wore black three piece suits.

    "Why's that slick?" the white man asked.

    "K, I thought we were past you calling me slick, or sport, or tiger, or son here. I swear man, sometimes I wish you were still sorting mail and were potentially going to go up on a bell tower somewhere and blow somebody's head off." The black man sighed and then looked at the radio, "And why do you still listen to Elvis? Why can't we listen to something else? I mean something not fifty years old."

    "Elvis is timeless and is pretty big among the Kree." Agent K said.

    "Really?" his partner, Agent J asked somewhat surprised.

    "No. Not really. I'd be surprised if they actually had music. They're really uptight. All work. No personality. You ever meet someone like that?" K asked.

    "No. Never." J said looking directly at K.

    "Now you were saying something, sport?"

    "I just wonder why we even bother sometimes. I mean hell man, everybody and their grandma knows that guys like Superman or the Silver Surfer are aliens. Yet we still pull this cover-up conspiracy bullshit." J explained.

    "No, everyone does NOT know that they are aliens. Not everyone would believe such a thing. We still have people on this planet who think the earth is flat. They're so closed minded that they think they're the only life in the universe and that Galactus was just a mutant with an overdeveloped pituitary gland. And God bless every one of them. It makes our job a lot easier. So what if a few high-profile metas claim to be aliens? Thor claims to be a god." K elaborated.

    "Thor is a god though."

    "Yeah, we both know that. But they don't. So God bless those few close minded morons out there that keep people who believe second guessing themselves and prevent the world from plunging into utter chaos when everyone and their sweet, little, old, grandma find out that aliens suddenly realizes that aliens have been visiting earth since before the pyramids were built."

    "So aliens did build the pyramids…"

    "No. The Egyptians built the pyramids."

    J smirked, "It's good to have you back, man."

    "Good to be back, slugger." K replied.

    "So, why don't you go through "why the hell I get dragged all the way out west here where any minute I'm sure I'm going to see the Lone Ranger ride up beside us on Silver?'" J stated.

    "A couple of nights ago Wekyaaah and Bob picked up a signal from the Watchtower. Our good friend J'onn was sending us his usual reports from his monitor duties. Seems an unauthorized ship entered the system and hung back around Uranus and do not laugh."

    "About what? Uranus? Please." J said turning away and putting a hand over his mouth, "So what kind of ship was it?"

    "J'onn wasn't sure so he went through our archives and he found it pretty quickly. It's a Predator." K explained.

    "A Predator?" J asked.

    "Not the species' real name of course. Human tongues have a hard time pronouncing the real name, so we just call them Predators. You know like we call Bugs….Bugs."

    "And let me guess, it preys on humans? Eat us like a hotdog at Madison Square Garden?" J asked again.    

    "No, they do not eat humans. They hunt us. Or anything else that resembles and challenge. These guys are heavy into hunting, battle, and honor. They make Klingons look like hippies." K went on.

    "So, what happened then?"

    "Small shuttlecraft exited the larger ship and set a course for earth. The only problem was it had a cloak and disappeared off our screen which is why we're just now getting a bead on it. Lucky for us, it had a leaky proton exhaust system which is how we traced it."

    "It'd still seem like a needle in a haystack to me. I mean how do you pick out one exhaust system like that on the whole planet?" J said.

    "Because no one else on earth uses a proton exhaust system." K replied.

    "Oh. So where we going? Texas?" J asked.

    "California actually. More specifically a little 'burg about a hundred and twenty miles north of L.A. called Sunnydale. You ever hear of a Hellmouth?" K asked.

    "Nope."

    "Me either. That's just what the locals call it. We call it a Revolving Door: a place where Ley-line energies converge and the dimensional fabric of the area is slightly weaker allowing for aliens from other dimensions to visit earth."

    "Aliens from other dimensions?"

    "Or demons, whatever you want to call them. The point's moot. This place is the ideal hunting ground for a Predator because not only does it get to hunt humans but also "demons" and whatever else it can find." K went on.

    "Okay, so we go and stop this Predator or Predators and tell them to get the hell off earth." J ran through his head.

    "That is exactly right. Earth has been restricted territory from these hunts since we started the Men in Black in the nineteen sixties because we proved just intelligent enough to get a voice out there. But every now and then you'll hear about one of these things popping up in Central America, Gotham, or L.A. We're prime hunting grounds, slick, and the fact that metahumans and mutants started popping up more in the last twenty years just made their decision to come to earth a lot more one-sided." K said.

    "Intergalactic poaching. Man this job just gets better and better. And then of course there's the fact that this guy might kill the wrong alien slash demon and start an inter-dimensional war." J said smugly.

    "That too. You're getting better."  K smirked.

    "Well I had a good teacher." J smirked back.

    "I'm going to cut you off right there before you say that Zed taught you everything you know." K said, looking over to his partner.

    "How'd you know that was coming?"

    "Just seemed like something you'd say, junior."

     The Predator watched with fascination as the beings fought in the cemetery near his perch atop the tomb. It was hard to fathom at first. He had only picked up two heat signatures at first and had to switch his helmet screens several times over in order to get a better look at what was going on. Finally it made sense, the two heat signatures; both females and a male that had no signature were fighting three other creatures without signatures. It was probably just a glitch in his helmet's system. What was most puzzling is that the male and the two females seemed to be fighting their own kind. Perhaps their fellows that they fought had done something unforgivable that warranted their extermination? Perhaps they had saved their lives in battle?

    "Got one coming at you Slayer!" the male said as he swung the one he fought to one of the females.

    The female wielded some sort of weapon and struck the creature in the chest with it, making it disintegrate. Perhaps some sort of primitive tactile based disruptor? Yes, that was probably it.

    "Got…one…cuh-ming at you…Slay-Er." The Predator mimicked the male creature's voice as it watched the one called….Slay-Er…fight another of the creatures.

    She struck with ferocity and lots of speed. The Predator mused that from the way she fought and the regard that the other had given her, that she must be their chieftain. The creature she fought growled loudly and fought back, hammering her with punches and kicks that she only occasionally blocked. Then Slay-Er dropped and did a sweep kick on the creature knocking it to the ground. She tried to use her tactile disruptor again, but the creature moved and kicked her before leaping up.

    The Predator leapt from its perch and ran forward a bit, all but invisible to them. The Predator watched as the other female seemed to channel some sort of energy into the creature in front of them making it likewise disintegrate. She had produced fire! Perhaps she wielded some sort of molecular manipulation device…or was one of the super-animals he had heard that lived on this backwater little world. The Predator cocked his head and stood a few feet from her watching. She seemed to look right at him. Her jaw dropped a little bit.

    "Buffy….there's something else here!" she said.

    The Predator didn't understand her words, but he could feel their meaning. Somehow she had spotted him. It wasn't unheard of, of course. The cloak wasn't perfect, but at night it was practically impossible to spot. Still, no sense in taking chances. The female flew back and crashed to the ground with authority when the plasma bolt hit her. A large hole had been burned through her chest. She was eliminated.

    "Tara!" Slay-Er shouted, allowing the creature she fought to take advantage of the situation.

    The male ran to the fallen female's side. Was she his mate?

    "Glinda, can you hear me?" the male said.

    That's when things got interesting. The female was not dead. She had a hole in her, yet she still lived. She was unable to reply due to…well her lungs were gone, but nonetheless the male looked around as if she had just told him something. A mind warper!

    "Yeah. I just caught its scent. I'm having a hard time getting a bead on it. Wind's starting to shift. Point it out to me." The male said, looking about.

    The Predator prepared to fire again when suddenly a small terran bird flew into its face, pecking and clawing. It missed its shot and wound up hitting one of the death markers in the burial ground, making it explode. The Predator couldn't understand why such unworthy prey would attack it like this. Still, it didn't care. It was after all, unworthy. A simple backhand sent the pathetic bird to the ground. That's when the male leapt upon him.  

    The male creature was strong, not doubt. It knocked the Predator to the ground, but then went flying as the Predator flipped it. After all, it had not reckoned with a foe with knowledge of the Sha'Khari fighting style. The male was up just as quickly as the Predator though and was looking around for his opponent. The Predator took this time to take proper aim and fire his plasma bolt.

    The target moved to the side at the last instant. The Predator fired again and again, and each time the creature moved out of the way, sometimes seemingly praying to it's god by shouting, "Bluh-Dee H'el". The male creature apparently possessed reflexes enough to see the bolt as it began coming for him and speed enough to avoid it. He was worthy. The Predator powered down the plasma cannon on its shoulder and simply walked forward.

    The male flew back as the sound of the Predator's fist made the dull thud of someone punching a slab of beef. He rose and was battered again, flying another few feet away. The invisible Predator strode forth and struck again. However, this time its hand was caught. It cocked its head in puzzlement as the creature's face inexplicably changed, ridges bulging out, teeth growing, the eyes changing…perhaps in color?

    The Predator then felt pain as the creature bit into his arm hard. That was the last straw. The hand the creature bit into was the Predator's left hand. The right held a deadly surprise. From his wrist gauntlet, twin blades sprung out with a clanking sound. The blades then entered the male's stomach hard. His bite was broken as he was lifted into the air, writhing on the blades. The Predator was about to throw him off of them when he was struck from behind with a hard force. Stumbling forward, it dropped the male and turned to come face to face with Slay-Er. Well, technically face to chest as she was much shorter than he.

    "Spike, are you alright?" Slay-Er said.

    "I think I might be disemboweled." The male behind the Predator said.

    The Predator sneered. Slay-Er had saved the life of the male and taken his honor. He was worthless. Slay-Er seemed bold however. The Predator swung at her and amazingly she managed to duck the swing and then bring a hard fist into the Predator's chest. The Predator wasn't badly hurt. He had had much worse in his time. Still the blow was fierce, so the Predator returned in kind with his left hand scoring a glancing blow on Slay-Er's head as she tried to avoid it.

    "I hate fighting invisible people." Slay-Er mouthed as she went to her knees, feeling where she had been hit for blood. She found it.

    The Predator began to strike at her with his right bladed hand before he was sent flying back by an unseen force. As he scanned the area, he saw the other female sitting up with the bird in her lap! She was healing at a remarkable rate and seemed to have her eyes fixed on the Predator.

    "Thespia, let us glean upon this thing that cannot be seen." She choked out.

    Warnings popped up on the Predator's screen inside his helmet. His cloak was losing power. He was becoming visible. Slay-Er's jaw dropped when she saw the true form of the Predator come into sight, but he knew she wasn't afraid. She didn't smell afraid. The Predator warbled his cicada cry in challenge. He wanted Slay-Er alone.

    The male was unable to fight at the moment, but at the rate the other female was healing she would be up and around to aid Slay-Er soon. The Predator quickly threw a razor disk at her. She had no time to prepare as the disk turned vertical in the air, shearing through the top of the female's head leaving her skull cut upon from her forehead to the back of her cranium. She fell back incapacitated as the razor disk returned to its master.

    Slay-Er attacked enraged at that and traded blows with the Predator. She was strong. Given the proper time and training, perhaps as strong as a Predator. But perhaps not. The Predator grabbed her wrists when she sent blows at him and kneed her in the mid-section violently. Slay-Er was actually carried off the ground by the impact, spun, and thrown a dozen feet easy.

    The Predator ran forth and threw a kick. Slay-Er spun out of the way and swept him to the ground while he was off balance with a foot in the air. She then brought hands into a double axe handle and hit the Predator in the throat. The Predator sat up clutching its throat. Slay-Er wrapped her arms around his neck attempting to break it. The Predator stood with her still clinging to his back. Her grip around his neck was tight, but he slowly, methodically broke it and violently pulled her up over his shoulder. The Predator gripped her by the neck with one hand and by the leg with another. He then surveyed the area and took off with a full head of steam and slammed Slay-Er into the wall of a tomb, making an indention in the concrete wall.

    "Yeah! Kick her ass!" the creature she had been fighting before shouted.

    Was it challenging the Predator? Perhaps, but the Predator had the one it wanted.

    It backed up and slammed Slay-Er into the wall again. The Predator did this again and again and again, each time eliciting a scream of pain from Slay-Er. Backing up one last time it lifted Slay-Er over its head in a gorilla slam position and chucked her into the side of the tomb. Despite the crippling pain, she must have been in she managed to sit up, if just barely. Time to end this.

    The Predator strode forward the claws on its right arm fully extended. Taking a moment to imagine how the head of Slay-Er would look on his trophy case, the Predator smiled under its helmet. Then it struck forth. But he did not take her head.

    Still, the broken mess that was Slay-Er fought. Her small hands wrapped about the blades of the Predator holding the arm back, albeit shakily. The Predator pushed forward, hard, as blood flowed off the hands of Slay-Er. She resisted going into death and for that the Predator respected her immensely. Still he would kill her all the same. Harder he pushed, inching closer and closer to Slay-Er's head and neck…closer…closer…almost there.

    The Predator quickly recoiled the blades and spun on instinct as he felt the presence of another behind him. His blades took the head of the creature that had shouted mere moments before and it crumbled to dust as it was decapitated.

    This was wrong. Something was wrong here. The Predator had just disintegrated something by merely taking the head. That did not happen on a regular basis. Perhaps, when the others had been killed earlier, it was because they were genetically programmed to do so at death. That would mean if Slay-Er was like them, she would simply crumble to dust as well when he took her head. That meant no trophy. That meant no honor. But wait, Slay-Er had used a simple stabbing weapon that he had thought was a disruptor to kill her opponent. He had been stabbing and blasting away at these others all through the battle, yet they remained intact. There was much to consider now. Much that needed to be learned. Though he ached to take her head now, he would not unless he was absolutely sure he would have a trophy and not just dust.

    The Predator looked down at Slay-Er and saw her weapon in the front pocket of the garment she wore on her legs. He took it and examined it. Perhaps it would lead to answers? Perhaps there was a secret to the weapon? Perhaps if he learned more about it, he would learn more about his foe? The Predator looked to Slay-Er lying on the ground and cocked its head before walking off into the night, ignoring the pleas from behind him.

    "Hey! That's my stake! That's my Mr. Pointy! Hey! Bring that back!" Buffy screamed as she watched the Predator walk away.

    "Shut up woman!" Spike said, as he crawled over to her slowly, "You get that big oaf to come back, you'll most likely get us all killed!"

    "Yeah, you're probably right." Buffy groaned and wheezed as she struggled to speak, "How bad are you?"

    "I've had worse, but it still hurts like hell. Blighter's blood tastes like shit too." Spike said wiping his mouth with his sleeve and looking at it, "In addition to glowing in the dark."

    "Oh God, Tara!" Buffy said, trying to position herself to crawl to their comrade. Buffy didn't get far.

    "Stay put. I'll do it." Spike said crawling to Tara.

    Poe was standing beside her cawing wildly, flapping his wings and obviously favoring one of them.

    Spike shooed the bird and listened, "Her chest is almost all healed. She's breathing at least. She's alive but she's out cold. Head's split open badly. It's healing but she might have brain damage from all this."

    Spike then turned and looked at Buffy, "We need to get out of here. Place'll be crawling with vampires once they smell Slayer blood in the air. Not to mention Ghouls to scavenge on us. Tara was linked up to Red right?"

    "Yeah, but…ah…they way they explained it was….that they weren't entirely linked up. Just could contact each other if they needed it. If she got a hold of Willow, she'd be here by now." Buffy grimaced in pain, "I don't think I can walk right now."

    "Your cell phone?" Spike asked.

    Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and produced a heavily damaged piece of equipment, "Smashed."

    "Bloody peachy." Spike said, trying to stand, "We might have to take a big risk here."

    "What's that?" Buffy asked, trying to crawl forward again.

    "I seem to be in the best shape of the three of us. My car isn't far from here. I can try to get to it and come back and get you two."

    Poe cawed.

    "Three. But I don't like leaving you here vulnerable like this." Spike said, managing to get to his feet.

    "I know, but you're going to have to." Buffy said, finally crawling to Tara's side, "We'll be fine. Go and get the car."

    "Are you sure?" Spike asked.

    "I trust you. Do it." Buffy said as she draped an arm over Tara protectively.

    "I love you." Spike said as he bent his knees.

    "No bending down. You might not get back up. Go get the car. Kiss me once you get us home safe." Buffy said.

    "Right then." Spike said, limping off in search of his Desoto.

    "Spike?" Buffy said.

    "Yeah?"

    "I love you too." Buffy said, before groaning in pain.

    Spike limped off with a smirk on his face, leaving his friend and lover behind to fend for themselves at the moment. Buffy lay her head down and held Tara tight. Tara had gotten it worse than anyone and Buffy was very afraid that she would die again. Buffy managed to sit up and pulled Tara's head into her lap and watched her head wound continue to heal.

    "It'll be alright Tara. Spike will be right back. You hold on. We all need you, especially Willow. Plus you're not a pain like Kennedy." Buffy said, almost crying.

    Poe cawed to Buffy excitedly. Buffy reached down and pet the bird.

    "She'll be okay. I promise." Buffy said, trying to calm him.

    Poe pulled away and cawed loudly again. Buffy didn't quite understand, but then she felt that familiar tingle in her skull that screamed "vampire". Buffy turned her head and instantly swallowed.

    It was Bacchus.


	5. Saving Grace

    "Did I come at a bad time?" Bacchus asked as he walked towards Buffy.

    "Leave. Now." Buffy ordered, trying to summon up as much courage as she could.

    Instinctively, she shielded Tara with as much of her own body as she could. Bacchus looked down at Tara's face and then smiled.

    "Well, that's interesting. I haven't seen one of those in a while. It always astounds me to see that they know to apply their war paint. It must be instinct. Or perhaps, perhaps a little bird told them." Bacchus said as he reached down and picked up Poe.

    "Put him down! I'm warning you!" Buffy yelled.

    "Or you'll what? Shout at me some more? Please." Bacchus said, as he began to pet the frantically cawing Poe, "There, there, good bird. Did you know that your friend there's power comes from this filthy flying rat? That if it were to die, that she would lose her power and just be mortal again. And with those wounds, I don't think she'd last very long."

    "You do it, it's THE last thing you'll ever do." Buffy growled.

    Bacchus placed two fingers about Poe's neck, "It's not a good feeling is it? To be powerless. To not be able to fight or even run. You can't even protect a bird from me. Such a little thing, it's barely worth the effort."

    Bacchus then smiled and sat Poe down on the ground and pet the bird again. He smiled at Buffy and faster than she could see, jerked Tara from her grasp and held her high in the air by the throat.

    "Put her down!" Buffy screamed in horror, trying to stand, and only getting to one knee.

    "Come on Slayer, stand. Save your friend from me." Bacchus grinned backing away while still holding Tara.

    Buffy grunted in pain and barely stood, though she soon fell back to one knee. Bacchus laughed at her and then traced a claw around Tara's neck. With a chilling smile, he turned back to Buffy.

    "You know, I've always wondered something about these crow wraiths. How long would it take them to completely regenerate say…nine pints of blood?" Bacchus mused as he licked the spot he ran his claw over.

    Buffy stood again and did not fall this time. She glared daggers at Bacchus and actually took a step. Bacchus smiled immensely.

    "Good, now take another before I bite into her sweet, succulent, little neck." Bacchus said running his fangs along Tara's tender flesh.

    Buffy took another step, and then another, before faltering and going to her knees again.

    "Oh Slayer, you disappoint me. You were doing so well. Can't you save her? Come on hero, save her." Bacchus smirked, biting ever so softly into Tara's neck.

    Tara groaned in her unconscious state as Buffy stood again, fire in her eyes. Her back hurt like hell, it was hard to walk, and her hands were sliced open, but she was FAR from broken. She took another step, then another, then another. She broke off into a small run and leapt in the air, going for a jump kick. And she was batted away as Bacchus easily sidestepped the maneuver.

    Buffy grunted in pain when she hit the ground and looked up again, seeing Bacchus drinking from Tara. Buffy scanned the area for something, anything. She found a stone, rounded and not very large, but it was all she had. She threw it as hard as she could right at Bacchus's ugly face. He caught it and threw it back, hitting her square in the nose. As Buffy clutched her nose in pain, Bacchus withdrew his head from Tara's neck and issued forth a deep, throaty, laugh.

    "Now I must say, I haven't even been challenged yet and I already enjoy this. This is the most fun I've had in a century or more." Bacchus bellowed.

    "Go to Disneyland once in a while then." Buffy grunted in pain as she tried to stand again.

    Bacchus looked at Buffy and smiled, before he looked ahead when the lights shined on him. The black Desoto screeched to a stop in the middle of the graveyard, and Spike exited the vehicle fully vamped and smoking a cigarette. He was also carrying a shotgun that he always kept around, just in case he needed it. Hell, he was going to shoot Buffy with it as little as two years back.

    "Well, if it isn't the man himself. Bacchus right?" Spike asked, showing a lot of his trademark cockiness.

    "William the Bloody." Bacchus grinned, tossing Tara to the ground.

    "Spike'll do just fine, mate. And what's this I see? You picking on my girls? 'Cause if you are, well that's not very gentlemanly of you." Spike smirked, the wounds on his stomach already sealed.

    "I have no quarrel with you or with anyone of my own kind." Bacchus stated, sizing up the much younger vampire.

    "True, but see, I got this real nasty habit of picking fights with my kind. I really get into it. Gets the blood all fired up. Now how about you step away from my friends there and then you can keep your head squarely on your shoulders before I blow it…"

    The gun was sliced in half by Bacchus's claws so quickly he didn't have time to blink.

    "…off. Cute trick." Spike mused before he was slapped into the windshield of his car.

    "You're amusing. I'll give you that." Bacchus smiled as he lifted Spike and threw him into the air like a ragdoll. Spike landed with a thud and before he knew it, Bacchus's foot was on his chest, "Would you die so that they might live?"

    "In a heartbeat….well metaphorically speaking." Spike growled unable to move.

    "For both of them?" Bacchus asked.

    "Yeah." Spike said gritting his teeth.

    "Why? Why would you die for either of these women?" Bacchus asked.

    "They don't treat me like a freak." Spike replied.

    "The Slayer kills our kind." Bacchus stated.

    "Yeah, but I figure most of our kind need it." Spike answered.

    "I have no true interest in the crow wraith, but I have lots in the Slayer. So tell me, would you die for her?" Bacchus asked, staring Spike straight in the eye.

    "Yes."

    "Would you be my prisoner? My slave?"

    "Yes, you ugly piece of shit."

    "Could I torture you? Tear open your innards and pour salt in them?"

    "The answer is still yes."

    "Now, answer me this truly, why would you, a vampire, ever die for a Slayer?" Bacchus asked.

    "Because I love her." Spike replied.

    Bacchus's foot came off of Spike's chest.

    "Then take her and love her one last time, because when we next meet, she will die." Bacchus said as Spike began to stand up.

    "You could kill all of us now." Spike stated.

    "Ah, but that wouldn't be fun. Besides, I know what it is to be one of us, and love one of them." Bacchus replied before virtually disappearing from sight.

    "Fast little bunny rabbit ain't ya?" Spike mused before walking to Buffy's side and kneeling, "Are you alright, pet?"

    She replied by punching him right in the eye, "You stupid son of a bitch! He could have killed you! He might have by the way he was talking!"

    Spike merely growled, "Bloody Hell woman! I would have died for you! God I swear, all I heard ever since I hooked up with your soddin' lot was about how disgusting and loathsome and evil I am, but when a guy gets a soul and tries to do something genuinely heroic he gets punched!"

    Buffy wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Something shot through Spike then. She wasn't mad at him. She was scared for him.

    "I don't want to lose you." Buffy admitted as small tears came from her eyes.

    "Then you never will, luv. I'll be with you 'till the end. I love you, but right now we need to get you and Tara and her idiot bird in my car and back to your place before some other nasty thing comes around and decides to take a bite out of you." Spike said, shaking her.

    "Right, right. You get Tara and Poe. I'll get in the car." Buffy said, shaking off the events of the last few minutes. She crawled to Spike's driver side door and into the passenger seat.

    Spike sighed and limped over to where Tara lay, with Poe back at her side again.

    "That one's gonna give herself a heart attack before she's thirty." Spike mused as he picked up Tara and walked back to the car with Poe walking along at his side, "Women huh? Craziest lot God ever put on this world."

    Poe cawed, seemingly saying something in crow-speak. Spike of course had no idea what it was (he only spoke English and Fyarll after all) but could reason it was a caw of agreement, so there was only one way to reply.

    "Amen to that."

    "So where's the ship at?" Agent J asked, looking around in the forest where he stood with K, "And man K, I'm warning you, if Bigfoot comes outta nowhere that is just it! You can find yourself another partner, because I can't handle any Pacific Northwest Bigfoot bullshit."

    "Well you might have to. According to Dr. Benton Quest, Bigfoot is an extraterrestrial." K replied looking at the small machine in his hand.

    "Now how the hell do you have all this information?" J asked.

    "I read tabloids." K replied, "Seems our ship is this way. Wait, that way."

    "You're going to get us lost like those kids in that movie." J said, following K through the foliage.

    "What movie?"

    "Blair Witch."

    "Oh I don't watch horror movies. They upset my stomach." K said as he bent a tree limb out of his way.

    "You can handle swimming inside a giant cockroach, but some low budget, indie movie makes you a little queasy?" J asked, as the limb hit him right in the face.

    "Watch the limb there, sport." K warned.

    He stopped and looked around seeing nothing. J trudged up to him slightly out of breath.

    "What? Why ya stopping?" J asked, "You did get us lost didn't you?"

    "No, just the proton emission tracer says that the ship is right here. Must still be cloaked." K said looking around again.

    "Whoa, whoa, I read through the files when you were taking a leak at that gas station. Predator ships usually burrow." J stated.

    "That's just the big ones. This is a shuttle. None of this makes any sense." K said, "Predators always come in bigger ships, not shuttles. Shuttles are just used to ferry them around a few hundred miles of each landing. Why would a lone shuttlecraft land on a planet, while the mother ship hangs back at the other end of the solar system?"

    "Runaway?" J theorized.

    "Predators don't usually run away. Order is instilled at an early age. This just doesn't add up." K furrowed his brow.

    "Yeah, like all this is so logical." J mused, "Hey K, how close are we to the shuttle?"

    "Around, fifteen, twenty meters. Why?" K asked.

    "Well if we're so close, couldn't we be attacked right now?" J asked in reply.

    "That is a possibility, junior." K replied.

    "Great. So uh, how many Predators does one shuttle usually hold?" J asked, looking around nervously.

    "Anywhere from one to ten." K stated.

    "Don't you think we should have some back up then?" J asked.

    "Who? Frank?" K said in reference to the small alien dog.

    "I see your point. Still, the only thing I know is that we've been talking loudly for the last few minutes while we're near a cloaked ship that potentially holds one to ten extremely pissed off intergalactic hunters." J said nervously.

    "Yeah, and your point?"

    "We're not dead yet."

    "I hadn't noticed."

    "Seriously K. I mean if you were a Predator, would you let just anyone snoop around your ship?" J asked.

    "Not really. That means one of three things. One, they're all out hunting. Two, there are less of them than we think. Or three, we're already surrounded and they're ready to blow holes in us any minute." K replied.

    At which time, both men looked around as crickets chirped in the vicinity.

    "Let's keep moving." J said.

    "Good idea." K replied.

    "Oh Goddess! Tara!" Willow shouted as Spike walked in carrying her lover.

    Kennedy was hot on her tail, "What happened?"

    "Was it Bacchus?" Xander asked, walking up slowly.

    "No…well not at first. It was our other demon…I think." Buffy walked in carrying Poe.

    "Well if it wasn't, now we have three Big Bads to deal with." Spike mused tiredly.

    "You came out of it alright." Robin said, walking out of the living room and glaring at Spike.

    "Yeah. Wasn't fun though." Spike glared, "In fact it hurt like hell and I'm in no mood for a chest beating contest right now."

    Willow was rubbing Tara's face as Spike still held her with Kennedy right at her side.

    "Tara? Baby?" Willow asked, almost tearfully.

    "Can you hear us?" Kennedy asked.

    "Nhhh….head...hurts." Tara said weakly, her eyes still closed.

    "Spike, we need to get her upstairs." Willow said panicky.

    "Yeah, move it bottle blonde!" Kennedy ordered.

    "WILL YOU PLEASE GIVE ME A MINUTE?" Spike turned to the two of them, vamped out before closing his eyes and reverting, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired and in quite a bit of pain. I'll take her upstairs and you can baby her all you like."

    "Here, she might want this." Buffy said, handing Poe to Kennedy before she limped to the couch.

    Xander walked to Buffy and helped her to the couch as Spike carried Tara upstairs with Kennedy and Poe in tow. Willow opted to stay behind with the rest.

    "What the hell happened out there?" Willow asked a little shocked at the severity of everyone's wounds.

    "Yeah Buff, we don't usually see you this beat up. What happened?" Xander asked.

    "We got our asses kicked. Hard. It was a demon, like one I never saw before. At first it was invisible and it was shooting all these blasts around. Tara had a hole blown in her. Then it was all visible and proceeded to beat us down." Buffy answered.

    "Oh God Buff your hands." Xander said, looking at the wounds there.

    "Grabbed this blade thing he had on his wrist. My hands hurt, but I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't grabbed it. Slayer healing will take care of it." Buffy mused.

    "Still you probably need some First Aid. You have a kit around here?" Robin asked.

    "Look under the sink." Willow said.

    "I am so glad I sent Dawn away. Connor too. That thing would have killed him if he had run on it by himself. It was really tough." Buffy said.

    "How'd you beat it?" Xander asked.

    "I have no clue to be honest. It just walked away. Then Bacchus showed up and played around with us too, and then poof he leaves too after Spike saved us." Buffy related.

    "And he didn't charge you?" Xander asked before getting a glare from Buffy, "Sorry, still not used to the whole soulful Spike thing."

    Robin walked back in with bandages and antiseptic and sat beside Buffy on the couch, "Here, put your hands up."

    Buffy didn't argue at all and let her wounds be cleaned and dressed.

    "How did he save you guys?" Xander asked.

    "I think it was mainly one of Bacchus's mind games. He held Spike down and asked him if he'd die to save us. He said yes." Buffy said, before looking at her bandaged hands, "Great. Now I have mitten hands."

    "I'm going to go upstairs…Tara she probably…" Willow started to stammer.

    "Go. She needs you." Buffy said to her friend.

    Willow hurried up the steps as quickly as she could and ran to their room. Kennedy was sitting on the bed by Tara with Poe on her lap. Willow came in and hugged Kennedy from behind and looked down to Tara, still a little teary eyed.

    "How is she?" Willow asked.

    "She's slipping in and out of consciousness and she probably doesn't feel too good, but she's healing. I've never seen her hurt this badly before." Kennedy admitted, more than a little scared at Tara's situation.

    "Neither have I, but she'll be fine. She's our girl." Willow said, trying to alleviate her own fears.

    Kennedy looked up at Willow and pulled her down into a kiss, "Yeah. She is."

    "Hey, I'm going to be right back okay? I need to do something." Willow stated suddenly.

    "Okay, I'll watch her….I mean we'll watch her." Kennedy said, petting Poe.

    Willow walked out of the room and down the hall to the room where Buffy and Spike slept. Willow knocked on the door and got no response. She knocked again and still no answer.

    "Spike? Can I come in?" Willow asked.

    She got a half awake answer which she thought sounded like a yes.

    Willow walked in and found Spike lying on his stomach in bed, still dressed in his clothing from earlier in the evening. Willow looked at him for a moment before speaking.

    "Hey Spike, are you awake?" she asked.

    "Slightly. Again, I'm sorry for snapping at you downstairs. There you got your apology, so scat." Spike growled.

    "That's not what I'm here about." Willow said, shuffling a foot, "I wanted to say thanks, for saving Tara…Buffy too…but mainly Tara. That sounds so selfish of me now that I look back at what I said but…"

    "You're babbling." Spike said, still lying down.

    "Sorry."

    "It's not a problem."

    "Thank you." Willow said, without babbling.

    "…You're more than welcome Red." Spike replied.

    Willow smirked, "You're not such a bad guy when you have a soul."

    Spike groaned, "Yes I am. I'm bad. I'm evil."

    "Not even if you tried." Willow smirked again.

    "You got me."

    "You want anything? Blood? A beer?" Willow asked.

    "No, I'm good…thanks though Red." Spike said, sounding half asleep.

    "Okay, well…goodnight." Willow said as she started to walk out of the room.

    "On second thought, a mug of blood wouldn't be half bad right now. Just crumble some Wheat-A-Bix in it to give it texture."

    "Ew."

    "Eh, it's the life I chose Red."

    Spike smirked as heard Willow leave and go downstairs to get him some blood. It had taken three years and he'd worked his ass off and even gotten a soul to do it, but he was finally getting something he craved from these people. Acceptance.

    "Do me a favor, sport. Throw a rock." K said as he and J walked along.

    "Like now?" J asked.

    "Yeah. Right in there." K pointed.

    "That where you think the shuttle is?" J asked.

    "Yeah. Throw a rock." K replied.

    J picked up a rock and tossed it in the air.

    "Oh and you might want to step to the side." K added.

    J did just that as the rock clanged against metal that wasn't there and a large plasma burst hit the ground where J stood previously.

    "Damn it K!"

    "What? I told you to step to the side." K said, "Automatic firing sequence anytime anything comes in contact with the ship while it's cloaked without putting the proper code in."

    "Okay Sherlock, what now?" J asked.

    K pulled out his Series IV De-Atomizer and fired at the ship producing a small explosion as he did.

    "The guns are always on the port side. Let's go." K said, walking towards the ship.

    "Whoa. I can make it out a little now that we're closer." J said.

    "Not a perfect lightbend is it? Still it can't be picked up by the usual sensor arrays. Now let me see, the access to this thing should be right around…here." K said putting his hand up to the solid object. He reached into his right pants pocket and produced a small cylinder like object.

    "What's that?" J asked.

    "Skeleton key." K said feeling around and then placing the key in a slot on the ship. A door suddenly began to open and light shined out below the ship.

    "How come I never got one of those?" J asked.

    "You have one. Right pocket. Standard issue. Did you read the manual at all?" K asked.

    "Ha ha. There is no manual." J stated.

    "Okay you got me. And they're not standard issue. These things are technically illegal." K replied.

    "Why's that?" J asked.

    "Sends a surge of energy into the door system to make it open up. Sometimes it follows the wrong pathway and goes to the engines making the ship explode." K explained.

    "And you're still alive, how exactly?" J asked.

    "Ready to go in?" K asked.

    "Sure, let's go get killed. After you." J smiled.

    "Why thank you." K said as he began to walk up the steps of the shuttle. He stopped dead in his tracks, "This just got worse."

    "Why? Is it a Predator?" J said, looking up the steps in front of K to see…nothing, "Huh? What's the deal?"

    "Look at that crest on the wall as you go in. You see that it's perfectly visible as you go up the steps?" K said.

    "Yeah, so?"

    "This isn't just any Predator junior. This guy is royalty. That's the crest of Hunt Master."


	6. Taking a Stand

    The Predator examined the weapon that Slay-Er had been using earlier. There seemed to be nothing special about it at all. He had killed several of the inhabitants of the world with it already and yet no explosive cloud of dust. Shaking his head he walked on through the forest. Things were enjoyable on this hunt, yes, but little things like not being able to make Slay-Er's weapon function or the fact that his cloak was still down made it a little frustrating. He'd have to overhaul his cloak on his shuttle or go without it. The Predator froze. He didn't leave that door open at his craft. He fell back behind one of the trees when he heard voices.

    "Boy's got himself quite the collection of skulls in there." J said as he exited the ship, K right behind him.

    "Those are the typical trophies these things take Slick. Still, you didn't have to play with the Xenomorph skull." K replied.

    "Oh come on man. Lighten up. Moving that other little head in and out of the mouth, it's just like a trombone." J laughed, "Hey, what's wrong with you? No humor?"

    "I have a very healthy sense of humor sport, but right now I'm still trying to figure this out. Hunt Master's don't usually come alone on these trips. And they certainly check and double check their engines to make sure that they don't leave any signatures that can be traced." K reasoned.

    "I see what you're saying. It'd make it harder to get off-world." J stated.

    "…You thinking what I'm thinking?" K asked.

    "Not unless you're thinking you want to hit that Double Meat Palace on the way out of town, get us some Double Meat burgers." J replied.

    "No, listen, Predators love challenges." K said.

    "So, he wants someone to notice him while he's on earth and then take them out when they come for him?" J asked.

    "Fits the profile of these things." K replied.

    "Think he wanted some MIB's?" J asked again.

    "More than likely. And we took the bait. Oh well, that's the job. Though he might have tried to lure Reed Richards out here. He's been infamous all over the universe since that whole deal with Galactus and the Skrull Homeworld." K explained.

    "No, I think he wanted us." J said pointing.

    K looked to where he was pointing and saw the seven foot Predator walking out from behind a tree. Its scales glistened in the moonlight as a slight reflection of that same light bounced off his helmet. The familiar cicada warble returned as it pulled a small device off of its belt, which instantly expanded into a very long and sharp looking spear. Other than those few movements it was totally still.

    "Why's it wearing a mask?" J asked.

    "You don't want to know. Let me handle this." K said, pulling out the Universal Translator from his coat pocket, "Excuse me? Hello. Could I have your attention?"

    The Predator cocked his head when he heard his native clicks and grunts come from the creature speaking to him. It decided it would listen for the moment.

    "You are currently in violation of ordinance 111752: Intergalactic poaching on a restricted planet, in addition to ordinances 111264 and 111265: entering a system without contacting the proper authorities and landing on a planet without proper authorization." K stated.

    "We got your number now." J added.

    "We're going to have to ask you to either get into your ship and leave or have you come back to MIB headquarters for questioning and incarceration." K continued.

    "We're talking downtown!" J helped out again.

    "If you resist arrest, then we have authorization to use force to immobilize and or exterminate you should you become violent." K went on.

    "And don't pulling none of that Rodney King crap, because we get that from every other alien who lands on this planet and gets arrested. You'd think ya'll get some of your own material and stop swiping ours." J added.

    "Now if you'd please come with us we'll try to make your stay here as pleasant as possible." K smiled.

    "Yeah we'll….what?" J asked.

    "Well you have to be nice." K stated, "Now, what will it be?"

    The Predator watched the creatures with fascination and then decided he had given them just about a moment too long. His plasma cannon opened fire. The two Men in Black jumped apart at the last moment.

    "Can't we all just get along?" J asked as he leaped into midair.

    K pulled out his Deatomizer and opened fire on the Predator. The Predator roared and managed to evade the shot before opening fire on K. K was hit dead on went flying back into the bushes, not moving.

    "K!" J shouted drawing the Predator's attention, "Okay Mr. Big Bad Alien Hunter, it's on now!"

    J reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun….about as long as his index finger. The Predator stopped and J was very certain that the sound he heard coming from the Predator was laughter. J smirked as his "little gun" started making a light chirping noise.

    "That's what they all do." J said as he squeezed the trigger.

    Both he and the Predator went flying back, in opposite directions of course. J landed roughly on the ground while the Predator smashed into a small tree, making it crack slightly and knocking it over. J sat up and laughed.

    "Whoo! That little gun's got some kick doesn't it?" he shouted.

    The Predator roared in pain and sat up, holding its chest. It was bleeding, heavily. It looked to J and growled. J didn't like that growl. He was also slightly in shock that the thing was still in one piece.

    "Should've been closer." He said as the Predator stood up shakily.

    J pointed his Noisy Cricket again but was immediately restrained against a tree by a metal net that the Predator had fired. The Predator picked up its spear and twirled it, letting J know its intentions. J swallowed hard and tried to find a way out of this situation. He was pinned hard and the thing was getting closer. He had even dropped his Noisy Cricket.

    "Wait a minute," he thought, "My cufflink has that little one way teleporter thing we picked up a little while after we got K back. Just good for one teleport though….man I hope I don't end up teleporting into that thing's body."

    J struggled and reached for the cufflink, slowly as he was pinned to the tree. The Predator was within striking distance now. J reached and reached. Almost got it, almost got it. The Predator paused and doubled over; still a little woozy was from the shot it took. It rose again and roared in pain and anger. It then thrust its spear towards J who screamed and disappeared in a blink of light. The Predator's spear was embedded in the tree.

    Another blink of light flashed and a screaming J fell from ten feet up and behind the Predator. He was instantly up and running as the Predator turned. Reaching for its belt, the Predator threw a razor disk at the escaping creature. The Predator smirked under its helmet, and then doubled over again. This was not good.

    J ducked the razor disk as it flew just over top of him. He then breathed a sigh of relief as he was safe. Wait, no he wasn't. He ducked again, the razor on a return path. J ran as fast as he could try to avoid getting his head sliced off as the disk seemed to follow his every movement. J screamed as it came back again. J turned to run and tripped over a root. The razor disk flew at an angle down towards J, who was screaming with his mouth open as wide as it would go. The razor disk was blasted out of the air as it neared him.

    J turned and watched as the Predator was running off as K was standing firing at it with his Deatomizer. K fired again and again and again as the Predator ran, holding his chest in extreme pain. He wasn't running out of fear of course. He was running because he needed to repair himself or he wouldn't be able to hunt ever again. And he wanted to ad these beings to his trophy case now, right alongside Slay-Er. J stumbled over to K, who was smoking heavily, though literally smoking. No cigarettes.

    "K…you're alive!  …I think." J said to his partner as he stood there, his suit smoking.

    "Standard issue plasma fire resistant suit." K stated.

    "It's plasma resistant?" J asked.

    "Why do you think we hand them out?" K asked.

    "…Stylish?" J mused.

    "Give me your communicator. Mine's fried." K said as J reached into his jacket and handed it to him.

    "Calling Zed?" J asked.

    "Yeah. We're setting up a perimeter. We need this ship guarded and then we're going hunting." K said.

    "Please tell me for wabbits."

    Xander Harris decided to sleep over at the Summers house that evening. Mainly because there were at least two killer demons out there gunning for Buffy. And if history has shown Xander anything about the bad guys wanting Buffy dead, they tended to kidnap her friends to get Buffy's attention. Hell, Spike had done it once and now he was sharing her bed.

    Still, Xander was half asleep on the couch and was soon to be off in the blissful embrace of Morpheus, or at least that's how Willow would phrase it sometimes. Then again given the dreams Willow usually had, he probably shouldn't talk that way. Warn the tadpoles? What the hell did that mean? Willow was his best friend, but boy she had weird dreams. Still, Xander was ready to join her in dreamland. But of course, that's when the glass window above the couch exploded above him.

    Xander's first thought before the mind numbing panic that usually set in was that "My God, how many times do I have to FIX this stupid house?" Then the mind-numbing fear set in. Xander opened his eyes just to see the circular chakram fly overhead and back out the window. He looked over to Principal…Robin, formerly sleeping in the chair across from him now wide awake.

    "What was that?" he asked.

    "God only knows." Xander said sitting up and peering out the broken window. He saw nothing at first, but then his stomach began to churn, "Oh my God."

    "What is it?" Robin asked.

    "Go get Buffy." Xander said, putting his hand over his mouth.

    "What happened?" Robin asked again.

    "Just go get Buffy." Xander said again, eyes wide.

    Moments later, the entire group of people (minus Tara) who were asleep upstairs, had come down the steps. Buffy seemed like her old self, able to move much more easily and much less stiffly. Slayer healing abilities were really a bonus. Xander still sat on the couch, not believing the sight he saw outside. He was white as a sheet and Buffy immediately knew something was up. Xander had seen and experienced more on the Hellmouth than most people could only dream of. It took a lot to freak him out.

    "Xander? What is it?" Buffy asked.

    "Take a look outside. I think Bacchus left something for you." Xander said, sounding sick to his stomach.

    Buffy immediately dreaded opening the front door. But she walked to it and turned the knob regardless. As the door opened, Buffy's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in dread. In fact, she vomited right there on the porch. Spike walked to her side and his eyes likewise widened. But he wasn't that affected by the sight. Hell, he had caused scenes like it pre-soul.

    "Red, come here. Everyone else stay back." Spike said quietly.

    "Why? What is it?" Kennedy asked.

    "Just stay back. Nobody else comes forward, just Red because we need her." Spike said again, almost whispering.

    Willow nervously walked forwards and looked out the door over Spike's shoulder. She immediately regretted it. Sunnydale had many institutions, just as any other large town-small city would. Among them were a branch of the cub scouts. They had been out camping now that summer was here. Now, they were decorated on the front lawn: bloody messes only barely recognizable as the children they had once been. Resting on the body of the child closest to the house was a single black rose. Willow felt like puking just as Buffy had.

    "Send it away Willow." Spike said.

    "What?" she asked.

    "Send them to a pocket dimension or to somewhere else in town." Spike ordered.

    "I-I can't do that Spike. We can't just send them out of here like that!" Willow said shakily, unable to turn away from the sight. Also unaware that her eyes had gone black just by looking at it.

    "Red, we have to do something. We have twenty dead kids on the lawn and something has to be done before the sun comes up and the police come asking questions. Now look, I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's got to be done." Spike stated.

    "Buffy?" Willow asked, looking down at her kneeling friend. No, not just her friend: her leader.

    "Do it." Buffy ordered solemnly.

    Willow slowly nodded and looked at the flayed children in the yard. She froze for a moment and then closed her eyes.

    "Away." Willow commanded, as the children's bodies faded from sight.

    "Where'd you send them?" Spike asked.

    "A pocket dimension. For now, I-I-…we have to do something…that wasn't right…that was.." Willow started before breaking down in tears and walking back into the house. She screamed and fired a small bolt of lightning striking a wall, "GODDESS WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM? They always hurt people to get to us! They always do this! I'm SICK of it! They come to town and they kill and kill and then basically say "Tag. You're it". And now, now they're killing kids to get to us?!"

    Kennedy stepped back at Willow's uncustomary outburst. Robin didn't know what to think of it, but still he stayed clear of her. Xander watched his friend in sympathy, listening to her utter words he couldn't find. Spike watched and knew what Willow was going through. It was always the quiet ones who had all the rage just waiting to come out. He was like that. Buffy just stood silently, angrily.

    "No. They don't do it because of us. They do it because of me." Buffy started, "It's because they want me. I'm the Slayer and they get some power trip on making my life miserable. I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it."

     Everyone looked to her as Buffy stared out the door with hard eyes. Slowly, Buffy turned and looked to her friends. Yes, they were all her friends. Principal Wood who had seemed more like a coworker or ally, he was a friend. Kennedy, who she had verbally sparred with since they met, was her friend. Spike who had been an enemy, pain in the ass, lover and everything in between was her friend. And Willow and Xander, more than anyone they were her friends. More than that, all of these people, they were her troops. She was their general. And now, it was time for war.

    "The sun will be up in a few hours. We're going to get some sleep and then in the morning we're going to get up and load up on weapons and we're going after this son of a bitch and we're going to send him and every other monster, demon, vampire, or just plain idiot human who wants to mess with this town a message. You do not FUCK with us. You especially do not FUCK with the Slayer." Buffy stated.

    Spike smirked.

    "There's my girl." He thought.


	7. DisHarmony

    The Predator pulled up a rack of beef and bit into it savagely. Its helmet sat at its side as it fed on any and everything it could in the meat locker. It was high time to eat anyway, and the seclusion made for the ideal place to treat a wound. And treat the wound it did.

    It had had worse wounds of course. Like the time it killed that Force User. That was a tricky kill. Or the time the Xenomorph's skull had exploded with a blast of his plasma cannon. The acid blood of the creature had showered him, producing scars on his head and body that would never heal properly. Luckily his eyes had been spared. Then there was his hardest kill, one of the Kree Accusers. His back had nearly been snapped. Admittedly, the Accuser would have killed him had he not slashed at its eyes and then grabbed the Universal Weapon from its hands and fired it in its face. Still it was a good kill. So what was a glancing blast from a creature on a backwater planet such as earth?

    "Hey ugly, what are you doing here?"

    The Predator glanced up and saw a blonde female and two males standing there. Odd, she had the features of a being like Slay-Er while her companions had those of Slay-Er's ally, ridges and fangs. The female just stood there with her hands on her hips.

    "You're like SO gross." The female stated.

    "Yeah, he's one ugly mother…"

    "Shut your mouth!" the blonde screeched.

    "He was just talking about the demon." The other male said.

    "Well that's okay." The female said.

    These earth creatures were bizarre game that was for sure.

    "Okay you two grab him and throw him out. This is our…help me out here." The female said.

    "Lair?" one male said.

    The blonde snapped her fingers, "Thank you. So we don't need some ugly demon trying to take over our lair. The sun's almost up too so we don't have time to find a new…lair. Get rid of him."

    "He's kind of big." One of the males stated.

    The blonde sighed, "Look, you're minions. Go be minion-y."

    "Why did we sign up with her again?"

    "Could have been the sex."

    "Yeah that was probably it."

    "I'm WAITING!" the blonde shouted.

    "Okay, okay, Harm. Jeez."

    "Okay, big guy, let's go."

    The Predator was so not in the mood for this. He was hungry, injured, and tired. And in no mood to be toyed with.

    "Are you deaf?!" one of the males hissed.

    "Well he might be from another demon dimension where they don't speak English too." The other said.

    "Ah. Got ya. Habla Engles?"

    "I'm pretty sure they don't speak Spanish there either."

    "WILL YOU TWO QUIT FOOLING AROUND?" Harmony yelled several feet behind them making both vampires jump.

    "Okay! Fine! We'll handle…it." One vamp said turning around, "Where'd he go?"

    "Um." Was all the other got out before he was run through by the spear of the Predator.

    He shouted in pain as he was pinned to the wall by the spear. The other vampire roared and punched the Predator in the face. The Predator's head turned to the side as he was struck. Then it turned back to the vampire and if his alien features could smile then they were. A single blow sent the vampire flying back at the feet of Harmony.

    "Get up stupid!" Harmony said looking down at the vampire.

    "No way! I don't get paid enough to get punched like that!" the vampire explained.

    "I don't pay you anyway. It's a master-minion thing." Harmony stated.

    The vampire got up and looked at the Predator approaching them.

    "No way!" the vampire replied.

    "Look, you're not getting this here." Harmony said, her own features vamping, "I'm the master vampire and you're the minion. You'll do whatever the hell I tell you to do!"

    The vampire looked at Harmony, then at the Predator and then made his decision.

    "I'm gone." The vampire said, starting to run.

    Harmony grabbed his shoulder and pulled something from her belt.

    "That was a mi-stake!" she quipped as she staked the vampire, "And that had to be the funniest pun ever. Yay me. Still, I need to stop killing my own gang."

    The Predator stopped in mid-step. The woman's features had changed. She plunged something into the heart of the running creature. It turned to dust. The weapon was like Slay-Er's. Two and two was still four, no matter what race you are in the universe. The Predator pulled Slay-Er's weapon from his belt and walked back to the vampire pinned by his spear. Jamming it into the heart, it watched the creature turn to dust. Yep, two and two were still four. This weapon apparently killed the creatures with the changing features when jammed into their chest cavity. They were different from the other creatures that ran around. The Predator thought hard.

    The creature that fought at Slay-Er's face changed when it had gotten angry. The same as the female in here. Slay-Er was angry when they had fought though. Her face hadn't changed. Meaning, she wasn't one of them and that meant she didn't turn to dust when she died. The Predator reclaimed its spear and quickly began to put it on its head again. Slay-Er was his now. Her head belonged to him. Walking back towards the exit, the Predator walked into the small blonde vampire.

    "Um. Hi." Harmony winced as she looked up at the Predator.

    The Predator looked at her, and then shoved past. She was unworthy. She was beneath his notice.

    "Hey! Watch who you're shoving! I've gone up against the Slayer before!" Harmony whimpered trying to sound tough.

    The Predator stopped and looked back at her.

    "Slay-Er?" it said, "Slay-Er!"

    It walked back and made Harmony back up as it did. This one knew of Slay-Er. She may not be a trophy, but she may be of use.

    "Uh yeah, the Slayer. I've uh…beaten her before. Yeah that's it." Harmony lied, "So you don't want to mess with me. Buster."

    The Predator warbled and lifted Harmony by her shirt neck.

    "Slay-Er." The Predator growled.

    "Umm yeah…I just came back to town to…you know…kill her and stuff so uh…yeah. You want in on that?" Harmony asked, terrified.

    The blades on the Predator's right arm sprang up making her flinch.

    "Slay-Er." The Predator growled.

    "I can take you to the Slayer! I swear! Just put me down and put the knives away and we'll go and kill her! I mean you'll kill her! You!" Harmony said closing her eyes, "Oh God, I know I'm a vampire and basically the spawn of Satan, but if you get me out of this I will build several churches in your honor!"

    The Predator knew begging when he saw it. He knew pleading. Most of all he knew a coward. It tossed Harmony to the ground hard.

    "Slay-Er!" the Predator roared.

    "Okay! I'll take you to the Slayer! Just…don't kill me!" Harmony whined as she got up, "Oh man, now I have to build several churches."

   "SLAY-ER!"

    "Okay! Okay! I'm leading you now!" Harmony said as she walked along with the Predator following behind her. She smirked, "So, this is a team up right?"

    "SLAY-ER!!!!" the Predator roared, already annoyed to no end.

    "I'm taking you to her! No need to be a grouch!" Harmony said as they walked outside. She looked up to east and could see that the sky was pinkish in color, "Uh…we have to take a detour. Sunlight and vampires don't mix."

    Harmony looked down and found a manhole and lifted the cover somewhat easily, given she was a vampire. She started down in when the three red dots appeared on her forehead. The Predator growled.

    "I'm taking you to the Slayer! I swear! We just have to use the tunnels!" Harmony groaned as she started climbing down, the plasma shot just missing her head.

    The Predator closed his eyes and counted to ten. Must keep temper under control. Think of it as a test of your warrior capabilities. It's no big deal. It doesn't affect you.

    "Are you coming?!" Harmony's voice said from the sewers.

    The Predator growled and started down into the manhole. It doesn't affect you. It doesn't affect you.

    "So you think our guy is around here?" J asked as he and K drove up to the Double Meat Palace's meat locker on the outskirts of town.

    "Almost positive, Slick. The Predator is a big boy. He going to have to eat and eat a lot of meat. And since Double Meat Palace is promoting the hell out of those new ribs of theirs, I think this meat locker is the place to be." K said as the car pulled to a stop.

    "Guy can't hunt a rabbit?" J asked.

    "Oh he can, but would rather not. He'd save all his energies for the big game. Plus when one of these things landed in L.A. in '97, it ate in a meat locker." K stated.

    "So, you go through all that when you could have just said that they have a meat locker fetish." J replied.

    "I live to make your life hell." K said as he got out of the car.

    "Why don't I find that so hard to believe?" J said to himself as he got out, "Going to use the spectralizer and see if he was here?"

    "No need to." K said pointing to traces of neon green blood in a path towards the meat locker.

    "So you think he's in there?" J asked.

    "Could be. But I think he may be in the sewers now."

    "How do you figure?"

    "Manhole cover is open and there's a blast mark. He might have been chasing someone into the sewer." K noted.

    "We going to go in?" J asked.

    "No. I will. I've got more experience at this sort of thing." K said.

    "Now wait just a damn minute!" J started.

    "Besides, I'll need you to monitor me from the car with the tracking device. If I go down there and get killed then fine. I'll know there's another MiB up here qualified to handle the situation." K stated.

    "You're talking sense now." J smirked, "Hey K?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Be careful man."

    "I'll be back, Slick. I've fought things that make this job look like a piece of cake."

    "Oh yeah? Like what?"

    "Rogue Martian. Not the little kind either, the Big white shape shifters." K replied.

    "Man, how'd you manage that one?" J asked.

    "A Neuralizer and matches." K replied.

    "Get in the damned hole."

    K walked along in the sewers, sometimes knee deep in foul smelling, dirty, just plain nasty water. Using his Spectralizer, he followed any traces of Predator DNA he could find. K was an old pro at hunting aliens, so he noticed something interesting right off. Examining the Spectralizer readings and the path the Predator was moving on, K picked up on a very definite pattern. He reached for his communicator.

    "Hey Slick. Slick you there?" K spoke into the device.

    "Yeah man, find it yet?" J's voice replied.

    "Not as of yet, but did you ever do any hunting as a kid?" K asked.

    "Why yes I did. You know I went out with John Boy and Jim Bob and every other white guy on that farm I grew up on in the Midwest." J sighed on the other end of the communicator, "No K, I was born and raised in New York. I never went hunting."

    "I did. I used to hunt deer. Deer will move around in a predictable pattern when being hunted in familiar woods. They'll go in specific directions. Our boy is going in a very specific direction. Which is odd because he's only been in town for a few days. It's like he knows the sewers like the back of his hand." K explained.

    "Maybe he scoped them out?" J replied.

    "I don't think so. Predators usually stay above ground. This is really odd. You tracking me?"

    "Yeah. Of course."

    "Alright. Keep doing that. Over and out." K said, pocketing his communicator.

    Above ground, J did the same thing then smiled at the lady at the counter.

    "Sorry about that. Business call." J said, making himself sound important.

    "That's a cool cel phone." The lady winked at him, "So good lookin', figured out what you want yet?"

    "Yeah. I'll have half a dozen glazed. Maybe get a few bear claws. The coffee here any good?" J asked.

    "Best in Sunnydale. Well, except for the Starbucks." The donut lady admitted.

    "Never liked Starbucks that much anyway." J smirked.

    "We bake fresh, so it'll be a few minutes." The lady replied.

    "Okay. I have to be doing something anyway." J said.

    "What's the name for the order?" the woman asked.

    "….Black. Yeah, Mr. Black." J said before wincing, "ummm Manny I. Black. Yeah."

    "Give us ten or fifteen."

    "I'll be back then." J said with a smile. The woman winked and went in back before J started heading for the door. He held it open for the guy he saw coming in.

    "Thanks." The man walking in said.

    "Welcome." J said walking out the door before turning and doing a double take. He threw the door back open nearly breaking its bell, "Wood?! Robin Wood?!"

    Robin turned and looked at the strange man, "Uh yes?"

    "Man it's been forever! How've you been?!" J asked enthusiastically.

    "Uh I've been good. Do I know you?" Robin asked.

    J paused then smacked his forehead for his stupidity.

    "Duh. You wouldn't remember me. They wiped the memory of everyone I knew." J sighed.

    "I see." Robin said, backing up ever so slightly.

    "Edwards. James Edwards! We lived in the same neighborhood in New York growing up?" J asked.

    Robin arched an eyebrow.

    "Sorry. Not ringing any bells."

    "We were best friends. Ever since your mom died, we started hanging out when your mom died. Like your uncle took care of you after that, which was odd because he was white." J stated.

    Robin paused. This man knew about his mother dying. He knew about her Watcher taking him in and taking care of him. He knew his name. And what's more, the guy seemed vaguely familiar.

    "Well, this is a Hellmouth." Robin sighed.

    "We like to call it a revolving door." J replied.

    "Huh?"

    "Never mind. Look at you man, you buffed up." J stated, "What happened to you after high school?"

    "Not much." Robin stated, well nothing much except for hunting for the vampire who killed his mother and then finding him in this town in love with the Slayer. Also he got his G.E.D., "I'm sorry but I honestly don't remember you."

    "That's okay. I've been policing aliens in like this huge conspiracy thing. They wiped the memories of everyone I know; even my parents. So even you wouldn't remember me. It's for security. No one can know about it." J explained.

    This was an odd guy.

    "Yeah…right. So why'd you tell me?"

    J reached into his front breast pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on his face before reaching into another pocket and producing another object. It was small, silvery and cylindrical.

    "Well because in a second you're not going to remember any of this. It was nice seeing you Robin. I'd say we could hang out sometime, but…you know how it is." J said as he pressed the button on the Neuralizer. For an instant, Robin's entire universe was a white flash.

    Robin looked around and found himself standing in the middle of the donut shop just looking at the door. Outside, the guy who held the door open for him was getting into his car. Robin wondered why he was staring at the door and shrugged before going to the counter and ringing the bell so he could get some service.


	8. Bedrock and Roll

    Willow sighed and looked around the immense desert she stood in. Sand stretched as far as the eye could see. Willow put a hand over her eyes and stood looking out over the horizon. She sighed and watched as Buffy trudged up the hill behind her.

    "I don't see anything." Willow said, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

    "Yeah, I've been here twice so I think I have the lay of the land." Buffy said walking up beside her friend "Wasn't that dune over there last time?"

    "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean doing the whole out of body experience thing while you're injured deal?" Willow asked.

    "I want to take Bacchus out Will. That means I need to get some real ideas on how to take him apart. I can get some of those here, so I have to try because the next time he and I meet, one of us is going to die." Buffy said looking around the vast expanse.

    "I get that, but we could have waited until the afternoon when you'd be more healed." Willow said, ever the voice of reason.

    Buffy made no sound of protest; she merely looked in the distance.

    "There. That hill. There's a cave up top." Buffy said as she began walking towards it.

    "Gotta say, I'm not exactly looking forward to this." Willow sighed as she followed.

    "Don't worry. I'll do the talking; you're just here to get us both out when the talking is over and done with."

    "Gee, thanks a lot." Willow replied.

    "Hey!" Buffy said turning, "You know exactly what I meant."

    "Yeah." Willow sighed.

    "You're a valuable member of this team Willow. Without you we couldn't have beaten half the guys we have before. I know I can count on you to help take down another guy." Buffy said turning back to head for the hill.

    "You mean Willow or her magick is valuable?" Willow asked.

    "I mean Willow. Remember your doppleganger? You took her down with a tranquilizer gun and then impersonated her to save all those people at the Bronze, using zero magick." Buffy explained, "Just calm down and do the meditation exercises Dr. Strange taught you. You're getting self doubt thrown at you."

    "Kind of like in that dream." Willow said in realization.

    "Exactly. It's a defense mechanism." Buffy replied.

    "Well I'm gonna shove my defense mechanism down that prehistoric bitch's throat." Willow said smiling as she followed Buffy.

    "There's the spirit. Now just don't get sand in your shoes and we're all set." Buffy laughed.

    In the cave at the top of the hill, something growled. And watched.

    "Anybody here?" Robin asked as he walked through the front door of the Summers house with a dozen donuts.

    "Dining room!" Xander's voice rang out.

    Robin walked into the dining room and stopped suddenly as he saw Xander amidst tons and tons of ancient texts. Xander peeked up and wore a confused look.

    "What?"

    "You're researching." Robin said, astonished.

    Xander sighed, "Somebody had to. I think I'm making progress though. I've read so much Latin that I'm starting to think in it. It's till probably wrong but at least I'm thinking in it."

    "Where's everyone else?" Robin asked as he sat down and put the box of donuts in front of Xander.

    Xander greedily dug in and began devouring the pastries.

    "Well, Buff and Will are in the basement doing this spell thing to try and get some answers about what we should do." Xander said with his mouth full, "And believe me if they're going where I think they are I'd rather be here. Kennedy's upstairs watching Tara. She still hasn't woken up yet."

    "And Spike?" Robin said with a hint of anger.

    "He's out doing the whole getting information from demon bars and everything again." Xander explained before looking down in disgust, "I got jelly donut on the page. If Giles were here, he'd kill me."

    "Any luck on finding our other demon so far?" Robin asked as he picked up a book of his own.

    "Nope. Can't find anything on demons that can turn invisible and shoot energy blasts. Well there were a few but they looked like squids. Definitely not what Buffy described." Xander said, "Hopefully this new guy will wait until Buffy kicks Bacchus's ass."

    "You're pretty confident for her." Robin replied.

    "Well considering she killed a vampire that was a little younger than this guy when we were sophomores in high school, yeah I guess I am. Oh and I got her this Super Soaker yesterday that we're going to fill up with Holy Water. That'll leave a mark." Xander smirked, "Plus she's going to have the rest of us there for her."

    "You really think she's just going to let us all go out there and fight that thing?" Robin asked.

    "Well, yeah. It's no big. We've all killed vampires before. I mean hey, you were a big time vamp hunter yourself once. No big." Xander replied.

    "Yeah, I've hunted vampires before. Got my ass handed to me a few times too. And none of them were as old as this guy." Robin answered.

    "Well okay, maybe us mere mortals won't be out there, but Willow might. She can give this guy one hell of a hot foot if she wants. And I know Spike won't stay away from Buff even if she tells him to." Xander said, eating another donut.

    "Yeah, that Spike really loves getting close to Slayers." Robin said, bitterly.

    "You know what? A year ago I would have not only agreed with you but would have capped that little line off with something clever like, "To kill them"." Xander replied.

    "A year ago?"

    "Yeah, a year ago I would have staked Spike the first chance I got for what he did to Buffy and for the fact that I still could. He still had the chip in his head then. There wasn't a night I didn't think about doing it when he first came back too. It would have been easy because he was all crazy and couldn't defend himself." Xander explained.

    "So why didn't you?"

    "Because Buffy told me not to. And the fact that he had a soul."

    "And you automatically believed that, lacking any real proof?" Robin asked.

    "I don't doubt Buffy, not for a minute. Guy was half crazy from guilt anyway, so how could I not believe it?"

    "But you didn't know."

    "But he couldn't hurt anyone then. Plus we KNOW he has a soul now. I may not run the fan club for vampires with souls but I know Spike's not one of the bad guys anymore."

    "He killed people."

    "UNDER the First's control. And I hear your little playtime with Spike snapped him out of that." Xander fired back, slightly annoyed, "Look man, I know you have a thing about Spike and you mom because she was the Slayer he killed back in the seventies, but you gotta realize that he's not the same guy anymore. Spike may not be my favorite person in the world but he's part of the team, something it looks like you're still having problems adjusting to."

    "I'm part of the team, I just don't like when the team has a murderer on it. Sorry for what he's done or not, he's still a murderer at heart. Just because you have a soul doesn't make you good. Charlie Manson's proof enough of that. He still has a demon in him and he could lose control at anytime—"

    "And if he does, Buffy will take care of it." Xander said, now a little angry that this whole subject came up.

    "Will she?" Robin asked.

    "Yeah. She went through the same thing with Angel, and she did her job. And ya know what else? I wouldn't let Buffy hear you talking like this. I hear she already gave you a stern talking to about trying to kill Spike before."

    "That was because we were going to fight the First and we needed him. That war's over now." Robin replied.

    "Robin, I kinda like you man so I'm telling you this right now. Let it go. This thing will eat you up inside unless you do. I know from experience. Just let it go before Buffy and or Spike hear you talking that way. Chances are as good a vampire hunter as you were, you can't take either of them in a straight up fight. So just drop it." Xander said slowly, letting just a little bit of Soldier Guy's tone seep into his voice.

    "Let's just get back to research." Robin said, looking down at his book.

    "Praise Allah." Xander said aloud. He then started thinking very heavily.

    "Oh man, I just defended Spike. I feel so dirty now."

    Buffy and Willow walked to the mouth of the cave. Buffy looked inside while Willow seemed a bit hesitant to enter. She was fidgeting very noticeably. Her hair seemed a little long and more auburn than red as well. Additionally her jeans seemed to have become a skirt and her shirt was now a fuzzy sweater.

    "Umm…Buffy?" Willow said nervously, noticing the change, "I should go. Kind of afraid now."

    "Don't be silly Wills. You're just getting your self image from high school thrown back into your face. Just focus and tune it out." Buffy explained, walking further.

    "O-Okay. I'll try." Willow said, concentrating and taking on her more up to date appearance, "Wow, self actualization. Metaphysical. How are you getting around the confidence dump, Buff?"

    "Might have acted different in high school, but I was still the Slayer. I have to keep that in mind otherwise I'm going to end up worried that Snyder's going to put me in detention. But then I just remember a giant snake ate him." Buffy replied, smirking.

    Suddenly there was movement to the side followed by a feral growl. Buffy caught it and stepped back. She was looking at a dark area of the cave and seemed to be able to make out SOMETHING. She turned to Willow slightly.

    "How about a little light?"

    "Sure." Willow said as her right hand was raised and began spewing out photons.

    Buffy turned back to where she was looking at and was satisfied at what she saw.

    "Hey there. It's me again. I need your help. Now are you going to just give it to me like last time or do we have to fight?" Buffy asked, folding her arms.

    Standing in the corner, well crouched in the corner was more like it, was a black woman with wild hair and white body and face paint all over her. She looked up and growled and moved back and forth a little, somewhat like an animal. She was a being that Buffy had both sought guidance from and fought in the past. She was the First Slayer.

    Tara sat up in bed quickly and gasped for air. Kennedy instantly shot over to her.

    "Tara?! Tara are you okay?" Kennedy asked, gripping her by the shoulders.

    Tara looked around and seemed a bit confused.

    "Why am I in our room?" Tara asked.

    "Because Buffy and Spike brought you here." Kennedy explained.

    "But the demon…"

    "Fight's over. You guys lost. You managed to get away." Kennedy said trying to explain, "You've been slipping in and out on consciousness all night. The demon did a number on your head. Well, all of you."

    Tara instinctively felt up for her head. She then felt for her chest.

    "N-No wonder I'm so sore." Tara reasoned.

    "That little healing power of yours is really handy." Kennedy smirked

    "The others….are they—"

    "They're fine. They got you back here." Kennedy said.

    "What about Poe?" Tara asked.

    To the right of her, Poe cawed loudly. Tara looked over at him and noticed he was injured. Though the crow's injured wing was set.

    "Did you do that?" Tara asked.

    "Yeah, little trick I learned in the girl scouts. They taught us how to take care of wounded animals. I never thought it would come in handy though." Kennedy said.

    "Are you okay Poe?" Tara asked as the crow hopped over to get closer to her.

    "Reasonably so. Kennedy's bedside manner is somewhat lacking however. I think she may have injured my wing more than that ruffian has." Poe cawed words that only Tara could understand.

    Tara smirked.

    "What did he say?" Kennedy asked.

    "That you're a terrific nurse." Tara laughed.

    "That's not what I said at all!" Poe cawed excitedly.

    "Ah, I like you too." Kennedy said petting the bird.

    "She's touching me! Make her stop Tara!" Poe cackled.

    "You two are the cutest." Tara smirked, swinging her feet to the side to get up.

    "Oh no!" Kennedy said blocking her, "You're staying right here!"

    "Kennedy I'm fine. Really. You said it yourself; my healing power is really handy." Tara said.

    "Well you're not done healing, otherwise you wouldn't be sore. And your brain might steal be healing, and we don't know how much it can take and—"

    Tara quickly kissed her and smirked.

    "You're babbling like Willow. I just want to take a shower and get cleaned up. You can even come with me if you're really so concerned." Tara said in a seductive voice, playing with the bottom of Kennedy's shirt.

    "When you put it that way…" Kennedy said getting up and pulling Tara to the door.

    "Humans." Poe cackled, "Human women to boot!"

    "Oh hush." Tara called back.

    "What did he say?" Kennedy asked.

    "Oh nothing. Say, where's Willow. She might want in on this." Tara replied.

    "Willow's kinda busy."

    "Okay this is just crazy." Willow said sighing.

    Moments ago, she and Buffy had confronted the First Slayer in her cave here in this weird little plane of existence. Buffy had even asked for help nicely and the First Slayer STILL jumped on her. The two began to fight fiercely and the battle pitched back and forth. The First Slayer's savagery gave her an early edge, but Buffy quickly turned it around and used thousands of years of combat techniques that had been developed after her prehistoric counterpart's death.

    The First Slayer leapt at her. Buffy grabbed her arm and used her own momentum to send her crashing to the ground. The First Slaver sent out a wild kick, that Buffy easily leapt over. Coming back down, she sent out her own kick that knocked the First Slayer back against the cave wall. The First Slayer then charged angrily and was met with precision blows to the neck and stomach that made her stumble. A quick spin kick later, and the First Slayer was flat on her back.

    "You had enough yet?" Buffy asked, folding her arms.

    The First Slayer rose slowly. She then bowed her head to Buffy.

    "I must test. You are strong. You passed." She said in a slightly primitive rasp.

    "Thanks. You strong too. Also in need of hair care products." Buffy replied, "Now can we get down to business?"

    The First Slayer sat on the ground folding her legs.

    "You sit." She said.

    Buffy immediately sat.

    "You sit too." The First Slayer said looking to Willow.

    "Oh okay! Sitting. Not a problem. See?!" Willow said also sitting.

    "Okay cave Slayer, you've always got some sort of cryptic message for me whenever I come and see you, so start spilling" Buffy said.

    The First Slayer watched Buffy closely but said nothing. She did this for a few minutes.

    "She's not talking Buffy." Willow said.

    "Way to state the obvious Will." Buffy replied, "Come on Betty Rubble, say something. "The Slayer is alone" or "Death is your gift". Something!"

    "Hunt. Fight. Die." The First Slayer said.

    "Huh?" Buffy and Willow asked at once.

    "Hunt! Fight! Die! Great circle, no escape. Is life. But to Slayer, there is no hunt. She hunted. She just fight and die." The First Slayer explained.

    "Okay, wishing I had a translator here." Buffy said.

    "You might have one. I think what she's talking about is the law of the jungle. I mean that's how it was when she was around right? Her people had to hunt, they probably fought, and they eventually died." Willow said, trying her best to reason out the First Slayer's words.

    "Red one understand. Now understand this. Slayer no hunt. She hunted."

    "I think I understand that one." Buffy replied, "It's like I was saying a little while ago, the Big Bads always come after me."

    "Yes. Slayer hunted. That's why she die. They come to her on own terms. Slayer needs to hunt. Then she come to them on her terms!" the First Slayer said.

    "…That's it? That's your wisdom? I said that myself a few hours ago!" Buffy sighed incredulously.

    The First Slayer grabbed her by the jaw and growled.

    "You say that. Do you do?" the First Slayer asked, "Hunt in day. Go on own terms. Find and kill. Then move on. Only hunter win this fight. Think like hunter.

    Buffy gripped the First Slayer's wrist and pried it off, "Do you have anything else to tell me?"

    "Hunt. Fight. Kill. Mean it." The First Slayer growled.

    "Oh I mean it. I came and hunted you didn't I?" Buffy replied.

    "Yes. Good. Now go hunt it!" the First Slayer smiled, "You hunt me, you beat me! Now hunt it!"

    Buffy stood, "Alright Will. Let's get back to our bodies. This pretty much went nowhere."

    "Well…I think it went alright, but okay. It was nice seeing you again miss First Slayer. And if you ever throw self doubt at me again I'll bring your cave down on ya, okay?" Willow said standing, chipper as could be.

    Buffy sighed audibly as she walked out of the cave and back down the hill with Willow in tow. This was a waste of time. The First Slayer didn't tell her anything she didn't already know. She was already going to go and hunt Bacchus down. She didn't need a prehistoric psych test to tell her to do that.

    The First Slayer watched the pair go and cocked her head.

    "Those crazy kids today huh?" a short man wearing garish seventies era clothing came walking out of the darkness in the cave.

    The First Slayer regarded him, and then stood straight up, her primitive garments changing to modern ones and her body paint fading away.

    "Tell me about it. They think they've seen it all." The First Slayer laughed.

    "Well that Slayer has pretty much seen it all. Strongest one that ever lived. She took out the First Evil." The man replied.

    "I'm well aware of that, Whistler. It's just that she's so headstrong and arrogant and absolutely will not listen to reason." The First Slayer sighed.

    "Reminds me of a certain Slayer I knew once." Whistler replied.

    "Very funny. You know what I mean though." The First Slayer sighed.

    "Yeah, won't see the forest for the trees. I think it's funny that they'd think you'd still be a barbarian even after you've been dead for thousands of years. It's even funnier that you play that for all its worth." Whistler smirked.

    "It's for effect. Seems to grab their attention and keep it." The First Slayer replied before watching Buffy and Willow in the distance again.

    "She'll come through all right. It'll be rough but she'll do fine. She'll make you proud." Whistler said, sensing the First Slayer was nervous.

    "I know that, it's just that for an agent of Order, she has so much Chaos about her. Her lover, her sister, all of that. It worries me" The First Slayer sighed.

    "Eh, it all balances out in the end. Ya got me and guys like Dr. Fate to thank for that. But she'll be good. She's got one hell of a destiny." Whistler said, observing a cave painting before entering the darkness again.

    The First Slayer watched him go and then looked at the painting herself sighing.

    A sun underwater. A sun on fire. A sun and crescent moon close together, and beneath it a sun with a crescent moon imposed over it.

    "Yes, but a hard destiny nonetheless." The First Slayer sighed.


	9. Road House was a very good movie

   With a groan, Buffy and Willow exited the basement. Trudging around, they finally came to Xander and Robin and sat down beside them, picking up books to research. Buffy audibly groaned as she flipped through the pages of the huge demon text.

    "That bad huh?" Xander asked.

    Buffy nodded.

    "No great portents or cryptic phrases. She just basically told me to do what I was planning on doing from the start." Buffy groaned.

    "She threw self doubt at me AGAIN! I wish people would stop doing that already. I moved on!" Willow pouted, "It could have only been worse if the Cheese Man was there."

    Robin sat back and arched an eyebrow and looked to Xander.

    "Cheese Man?" he asked.

    "You do NOT want to know." Was Xander's short but sweet reply.

    "Well I think I-"

    "YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!" Buffy jumped in again.

    "Point taken." Robin said.   

    Willow still sat there pouting.

    "I'm not a nerd anymore." Willow said laying her head in her arms.

    Xander walked over and put an arm around her.

    "We know Wills. I'm the only nerd in this group now and so help me don't ever tell Spike I admitted that." Xander said.

    "You really mean that?" Willow asked.

    "Of course I do. And I know something that'll turn that frown upside down." Xander said pulling her to her feet.

    "What's that?" Willow asked.

    "Well, the upstairs shower is on and we heard two girls getting in." Xander smirked.

    Willow's frown slowly transformed into a grin. Then a smile. Then a Joker-sized smile.

    "There's my little Sapphic sweetie. Now go on up, but remember to give me full details later. We're still best friends after all." Xander smiled.

    Willow turned to Buffy.

    "You think I should? I mean you might need me for research and stuff." Willow said.

    "Sure Willow, we'll be-"

    The wind from Willow's departure would have knocked Xander over and everyone else out of their chairs had this been a cartoon. But of course, it's not. Right? RIGHT?!

    "Well, that was quick." Robin noted.

    "Sort of makes me worry that we put too much emphasis on sex." Buffy added before her eyes widened, "Oh my God! Lesbian three-way in my shower!"

    "Let 'em have their fun. Tara almost got her head taken off last night." Xander replied.

    "You just want to visualize it." Buffy retorted.

    "True, so I'd appreciate it if you stop being a buzzkill." Xander smiled.

    "Great, now we need to read through all of this by ourselves. Where's Spike? For such a hyper guy he sure likes to read books a lot. Must be his soul." Buffy asked.

    "Spike is…Spike's out right now." Xander replied.

    A vampire flew into the wall of the bar. A scaly demon with long wolf-like ears and sharp teeth flew along beside him. Yet another demon crashed into the two of them. They had just made a fatal mistake. They had just insulted William the Bloody, more commonly known by the name he garnered when he tortured his past victims with railroad spikes: Spike.

    "What do I have to say to get it THROUGH to you bloody people? I AM NOT THE SLAYER'S LAPDOG!" Spike roared loudly snapping a pool cue.

    The wolf-eared demon stood, "Yeah? Prove it. Stop killing our kind. I told you that before Spike, but you didn't listen."

    Spike looked at him.

    "Yeah, I remember you now. God, why do I keep running into people like this? Hit me when I turned around on a barstool few years back. Real bleedin' cowardly mate." Spike growled.

    "Maybe. Maybe I just didn't think someone who was the Slayer's bitch deserved a fair fight. You fight at her side, you kill our kind, and now I hear that you SLEEP with her? You're pathetic Spike." The demon growled.

    "Am I?" Spike said inching closer.

    "Yeah. You come in here and try to act like you're still the Big Bad in this town. But you're not. You went soft and started getting on your knees for the Slayer. Bacchus is going to take her down. He's going to wipe her from the face of the earth and give the Hellmouth back to the demons. All traitors are going to die with her too." The demon growled, "Demon murderers included."

    "Murderer, am I?" Spike chuckled, "Maybe I am. Maybe I am. Done quite a few people in my time. Done more than a few demons even when I was minus the chip. Yeah, I am a murderer. But you know what I'm not mate?"

    "Male?" the demon laughed.

    Spike chuckled too, until he jammed the broken pools cues into the eyes of the demon making it scream and howl in pain. Spike then repeatedly kneed it in the groin before turning it about with an evil smirk on his face.

    "Soft." He whispered into its ears as he snapped its neck.

    "Now then, anyone else want to say that Spike is the Slayer's bitch? Hmmm? Come on. Step on up. I promise I'll be gentle. Course I'm lying through my fangs, but whatever. I'll tear anyone who wants some to pieces." Spike growled.

    Then he heard it. A voice. A voice that to this day made him shudder in disgust and made him want to run out into the sunlight and just let himself be consumed in flame. THE voice.

    "Oh Boo Boo." Harmony said, giddy as she ran and leapt into Spike's arms.

    Spike's face went through a myriad of emotions. There was shock of course. It was followed by disgust. Then anger. Then he figured it wasn't so bad, sexy blonde rubbing up against him and all. Then guilt because he was enjoying a woman other than Buffy on him. God how he hated guilt. Then disgust again because it was Harmony. The anger again because she had called him Boo Boo thereby negating his toughness to the demon crowd. Finally there was acceptance. Grave, grave acceptance.

    "Harm." Spike said in mild annoyance.

    "Oh Spikey, it's so good to see that you're all evil and ass kicking again." Harmony said as she squeezed him tight, "And that you're over the Slayer and everything."

    Spike arched an eyebrow at the young vampire with her head on his shoulder. He wondered how much of the conversation she had actually caught or if she was just bleeding stupid. Or possibly both.

    "Harm, what are you doing?" Spike asked.

    "Hugging you, Blondie Bear." Harmony said, eliciting more snickers from the demons.

    "In town, Harm. What are you doing in town?" Spike replied, trying to maintain his composure.

    "Oh." Harmony said releasing Spike from the death grip, "Well, I thought maybe it was time to come back Sunnydale and establish my domin…domin….power. Yeah."

    "I see. You're going to be the new Big Bad in town I see." Spike almost laughed.

    "Well, yeah. Of course if you're already the Big Bad…well maybe we can work out an arrangement." Harmony said, licking her lips and fluttering her eyelids.

    " 'Fraid not, luv. I don't play that game anymore." Spike said, folding his arms.

    "You're gay now?" Harmony asked.

    Spike rolled his eyes.

    "EVIL Harm. I'm not EVIL." Spike sighed.

    "Uh, Hello? You're a vampire. You're evil." Harmony replied, "You're still in your Slayer obsession phase aren't you?"

    "Nope. Just sharing her bed." Spike smirked, hoping to possibly provoke Harmony so he could stake her.

    Harmony just laughed. Not the reaction Spike wanted.

    "Oh yeah…like the Slayer would sleep with you!" Harmony laughed loudly, "You're an evil, soulless, monster. She would never sleep with you like that!"

    "Well actually…" Spike began before being cut off by more laughter.

    "I mean the only way that she'd even touch you is if you had a soul like that Angel guy." Harmony laughed some more.

    Spike sighed for the millionth time and looked to the ceiling as if to ask why me God?

    "Harm. Think REALLY hard about what you just said." Spike said, putting his hand to his face.

    Harmony laughed some more. Then gradually it lessened. Then she frowned.

    "Oh my God! You have a soul!" Harmony said, disgusted, trying to rub off where she had touched Spike as if to rid herself of the soul cooties.

    "On the nose." Spike finally laughed.

    "It's on your nose?!" Harmony gasped.

    "…Harm, tell me why the hell I ever slept with you." Spike started, "I mean how can anyone be so bloody stupid?"

    "Well Spikey, I don't think you slept with me because of my brains. I think it was these." Harmony said puffing out her chest, "AND SHUT UP! I am so smart! Why I had my run of Mexico! I had a reputation down there!"

    Harmony said that with loads of conviction. And to some extent it was true. She did have quite the reputation in Mexico. Of course it was less the reputation of someone being a powerful master vampire and more the reputation that she was, admittedly, the best new vampire stripper at the renovated Titty Twister. But she would keep that her little secret for now.

    "Yes Harm. You're bad. I remember the time that you cried trying to open that jar of pickles we had at the crypt." Spike laughed.

    "IT WAS ON TIGHT!" Harmony defended.

    "And you're a vampire. Super strength comes with the package."

    "…SHUT UP!" Harmony screeched, "And I am so evil and powerful! MINION! GET IN HERE!"

    Spike smirked half expecting some guy she had known in high school or some himbo that looked like Kato Kaelin to walk in. However, he was genuinely surprised when the Predator walked in from the back room's entrance from the sewers, eyeing the demons. Harmony folded her arms and smiled. The Predator walked up beside her and looked at Spike, then at her.

    "Get him." Harmony ordered.

    The Predator just stood there and warbled its cicada cry.

    "Well what are you waiting for?!" Harmony asked.

    Now how was a superior Hunt Master supposed to explain to some unworthy idiot that her kind were not worthy of being fought by him? The Predator merely swatted her in the back of the head in a demeaning manner.

    "SLAY-ER!" the Predator roared.

    Any amusement Spike got from the situation instantly disappeared. That thing was deadset on his girl. Between this thing and Bacchus, Buffy didn't look to be having a good time. So Spike did the most logical thing he could think of. He punched the Predator.

    The Predator backed up a step or two. Then it did the most logical thing it could think of. It grabbed Spike by the top of the head and threw him backwards into the wall. Then it pulled out Slay-Er's weapon and prepared to throw it with all the skill it could muster. It intended to go for the heart.

    Suddenly, the stake fell out of the Predator's hand. It warbled and looked around as it held its now smoking appendage. It saw K standing in the doorway to the back room.

    "This a private party or can anyone join in?" K asked.

    Spike raised an eyebrow at the newcomer.

    "Not that I'm ungrateful mate, but who the hell are you?" Spike asked.

    "Health inspector, division six. And looks like we got a shitload of violations here." K stated.

    The Predator warbled and trained his plasma cannon on K. Harmony was instantly at her "partner's" side.

    "Kick his ass minion!" Harmony shouted.

    It looked at her.

    "Please?" she asked, terrified.

    The Predator's attention returned to K.

    "Don't make me open fire in here amongst all of these…people." K said looking at the demon patrons, "You may as well just give it up Skippy, because you're going down hard for all the treaties you've broken. You fire on me again though, and I got a head shot with your name on it."

    "He doesn't speak English you dope." Harmony growled, "Well except maybe for a few syllables and words like "Slayer" or maybe Prada, which I haven't heard exactly yet, but I'm sure he can say—"

    The Predator backhanded her over the bar.

    "Thank you." Both Spike and K said.

    The Predator seemed to shrug and then fired on K. K sidestepped and fired his own weapon. In the blink of an eye, the Predator's staff was extended and had deflected the shots damaging points around the bar. The Predator smiled under its helmet and was quickly closing the distance between K and himself, occasionally knocking a demon into the shots K made. The Predator waded closely and once in range swung the base of his spear, knocking K's weapon from his hands, before turning the bladed end to K's neck.

    K smiled and another de-atomizer popped from his sleeve and he fired at close range, hoping to immobilize his quarry. However, the Predator quickly sidestepped the shot and swung the base of his staff around hitting K in the small of his back, throwing him forward like a rocket. The Predator had little time to gloat as Spike leap-frogged the flying Man in Black and put his legs out in front of him to deliver a powerful kick that made the Predator stumble back onto and over a table, collapsing it as he went. Spike smiled and stood.

    "That's right Nancy, you're dealing with the Big Ba—OH BOLLOCKS!" Spike said turning and flipping over the bar as twin razor disks flew behind him, intent to take off his head. Had he realized what terrible fate awaited him behind the bar he would have accepted death.

    "You jerk!" Harmony said slapping him, "You went and made him mad and prov...prov…. pissed him off!"

    "Harm, I'm trying to be really nice here, so please if you would STOP HITTING ME I'd be exceedingly grateful!" Spike roared.

    "No! I liked you better when you were evil and mean and at least treated me nicely! I wish you were still evil so you could just lead that big lug to the Slayer and we could have sex." Harmony pouted as she slapped him again.

    "You're bleedin' insane woman. I never treated you nicely." Spike replied blocking her hand.

    "Oh yeah…YOU JERK!" Harmony yelled going to slap him again.

    Harmony went flying over the bar again and crashed into the floor in a heap.

    "Stupid bint." Spike mouthed.

    K rolled, grabbing his twin de-atomizers as razor disks and plasma fire struggled to pin him down. He leapt into the air and fired two shots. The Predator deflected one, while another hit its arm. It roared in pain as demons fled the bar and K slammed down next to Spike.

     "Hey there chief. You seem like a guy who knows what he's doing and I need help. You ever use one of these before?" K asked, handing Spike a De-Atomizer.

    "Nope, but I gather you point and squeeze." Spike said taking it.

    "Smart kid." K said.

    "Old enough to be your great grandpa you wanker." Spike sighed in frustration.

    "Ah. Vampire?"

    "Yep."

    "That's the best news I've heard all day. You move that way." K waved to one side of the bar, "I'll go this way. On three we come up and shoot at it at once."

    "Right." Spike nodded as he began to crawl to one end of the bar. His hearing could pick up the sound of the Predator warbling on the other side.

    He looked to K, who raised a hand.

    "One…" K mouthed, "Two…"

    Spike stood and quickly fired, damaging the Predator's helmet badly. The alien hunter stumbled back roaring in pain, temporaily blinded. K sighed and stood, managing to nail the Predator's shoulder cannon, which exploded with a bright flash.

    "You're supposed to wait until three." K said.

    "I'm impatient. Sue me." Spike replied, firing on the Predator again, hitting it dead center. K joined him and fluorescent blood exploded from the chest of the alien as it slammed into a wooden wall, leaving an indention.

    It was blind in the water and knew it couldn't take much more. Still, it refused to back away from defeat. It tried to stride forward and was merely met with more blasts. The Predator grew weary and struggled to maintain it's footing, the staff held like a walking stick. The creature's sight was dim, but still it managed to spot a mostly broken chair at its foot. With a kick, it lifted the chair into the air, and swung the staff like a baseball bat. The staff struck the chair and sent it towards K.

    K managed to evade the chair shot, but soon realized he had been duped when the Predator pole vaulted behind him with claws extended to his throat. He would not be living much longer. Spike saw the murderous intent on the creature, something he himself had so long ago and ran a number of options through his head.

    He could fire on the Predator, but the guy who had helped him would more than likely be killed by the blades. He could fire on the blades, and possibly destroy them, but still the Predator could snap the guy's neck like a twig. The demon in him briefly considered shooting K himself, but the soul of William the Bloody quickly dismissed it. Spike's eyes and aim instead traveled to the floor.

    "Hey big guy." Spike stated loudly so the Predator could hear him, "HEY UGLY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

    The Predator looked to Spike and saw his aim with the de-atomizer was off by a meter or two. Then the creature scanned to where the weapon was aimed and saw it trained on Harmony's head as she stood up. It growled.

    "Yeah, just keep growling mate. You want the Slayer don't you? Yeah you do. Everybody wants that one." Spike smirked.

    The Predator simply grabbed K roughly as it looked to Spike angrily.

    "I don't think you understand a word I'm sayin', but you get the gist of it. This little tart is leadin' you to my girl ain't she? I take her head clean off and you got yourself one less guide on the Sunny-Hell tour route. No Harm, no Slayer." Spike said coldly.

    "Boo Boo, did I ever mention I love you soul or no soul?" Harmony whined.

    "Shut up Harm." Spike warned, "Tell you what big man, you let that guy there go and I'll consider sparing this little bitch's life. You don't let him go…well Harm's gonna be scattered on the wind."

    The Predator mused the situation. He intended to kill his guide. No guide to Slay-Er. It'd be interesting to hunt her that way, but the presence of the Men in Black complicated matters. He needed to take her head quickly with them in town. He was honorable, but by no means stupid. Slowly, his claws inched away from K. The cicada cry returned as it watched Spike.

    "Harm, start crawling towards the big boy. Mr. Health Inspector, slowly inch forward." Spike ordered calmly.

    "Just shoot it and don't worry about me." K said quietly.

    "No can do mate. I'd feel bad in the morning. Plus I don't want my girlfriend mad at me." Spike said, watching the Predator.

    "Spikey, please don't shoot me." Harmony said as she crawled for the Predator.

    "Oh I'm not Harm. I got me a plan." Spike smirked, "Since our friend barely understands the human language, I got me a real good idea. You're going to go to the coat rack and put on a sheet, then you're gonna take my car. Spare keys are in the glove compartment."

    "Ew. It's so out of style." Harmony groaned.

    "Harm?"

    "Yes?"

    "Take the bloody car."

    "Okay." Harmony growled.

    "Then you're going to drive our friend to the construction site for the new Sunnydale Arms hotel since a hairy green giant stomped on the last one. Then you're gonna stay there till nightfall. Keep our friend there." Spike said.

    "Why should I listen to anything you say?" Harmony asked, very near the Predator.

    "Because you got no real love for this bloke. You're going to get killed by this guy sooner or later am I right? You help me help the Slayer and you might get out of town alive." Spike said, eyeing the Predator, "Only deal you get Harm."

    "Fine!" Harmony pouted as she stood by the Predator and quickly hid behind him, "This isn't over you souled S.O.B.! We'll be waiting for you at the old…. the new construction site! You bring your Slayer and we'll kill her! …. I'll call you sweetie!"

    The Predator slowly backed away towards the exit, as Harmony pulled a blanket over her body and ran out into the sun. Spike smirked. K then walked up to Spike and punched him. Spike was more stunned than hurt.

    "What was that for man? I saved your life!" Spike yelled.

    "And let a hostile extraterrestrial go loose! If vampires could be neuralized I'd make it to where you're shitting diapers again!" K stated.

    "Neura-what?" Spike began, "Wait a tick. That was an extraterrestrial? An alien?"

    "A very free alien that needs to be captured and deported ASAP. And you blew it." K said, resisting the urge to blow off Spike's head to see if it grew back.

    "Don't get your knickers in a twist. It's taken care of. That stupid bint fell for a plan I just cooked up. Your alien fella is gonna be captured mate, maybe disposed of permanently. That goes in the good category doesn't it?" Spike said, jumping the bar and looking around on the floor.

    "Care to let me in on it Tiger?" K asked, doing likewise.

    What the hell? He may as well go along with it all.

    "In good time, mate. In good time. That is if you got the stones for it." Spike said, scanning the floor.

    "Oh I've got those, but why should I believe a word you say chief? Vampires aren't exactly men of their word." K replied, wondering what Spike was looking for.  

    Spike smiled.

    "Ever been in love?" Spike asked suddenly.

    K cocked his head at the unexpected question.

    "Why?"

    "Well, 'cause all this…this plan…this crazy notion that I just cooked up in my head… is for a girl." Spike said, picking up Mr. Pointy from the floor.


	10. Making Preparations

    "OH MY GOD!" Xander began.

    "GODDESS FOR ME!" Willow said with an equal look of excitement.

    "Okay, K man this is some crazy shit right here." J sighed.

    "Don't be so uptight, Slick. They're your adoring public." K replied.

    "Men in Black! Here! Real! This is so awesome!" Xander exclaimed again.

    "It's up there on the coolness scale!" Willow added, laughing.

    "It's up there with my best friend being a lesbian level cool!" Xander added.

    "It's being in a relationship with two hot babes cool!" Willow replied.

    "It's Uncle Rory's car, saving the world, with no one knowing cool."

    "It's mystical orgasm on the ceiling cool!"

    "It's…mystical orgasm on the ceiling?" Xander asked Willow, with an arched eyebrow.

    Willow blushed.                                           

    "It's just a thing we do sometimes. On good days." Willow said, quietly.

    J looked to K and gave him what would affectionately be known as the "Why are we in a house full of crazy people" look.

    "I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Kennedy asked, walking up beside Willow and Xander and looking at the two Men in Black.

    "Well, it's an orgasm on the ceiling. I mean I've had them in bed, the floor, on a table, washing machine—"Xander started.

    "I meant about these guys!" Kennedy shouted.

    "They're Men in Black!" Willow said as if that explained everything.

    "And?" Kennedy asked, somehow more confused.

    "Didn't you watch that show with Peter Graves?!" Xander asked.

    "Who?" Kennedy asked.

    "The Biography Guy." Tara filled in from across the room.

    "Oh…was the show Biography?" Kennedy asked.

    "…THEY'RE MEN IN BLACK!" Willow and Xander said together.

    "Yeah, but that doesn't answer a lot of questions other than you know, males in dark clothing." Buffy stated.

    Xander looked to K.

    "Care to demonstrate?" Xander asked.

    "Why sure." K said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of sunglasses. J did the same with a sigh.

    "Everyone who's not Kennedy close their eyes!" Willow ordered.

    "Why is everyone but me closing their—"

    A bright flash flooded the room.

    "I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Kennedy asked as everyone else opened their eyes.

    "Heh. What was that? About a minute?" Xander asked excitedly.

    "Just about. She's missing one minute of her memory." K said proudly, "But I'll fill her in about us now. We're a special group of people who monitor and police aliens on earth. And it's okay for me to tell you that, because I'm just going to wipe your memories of ever meeting us later anyways."

    "Except mine. Vampires can't be flashy thinged. You said that." Spike said speaking up.

    "No, we'll just blow your head off if you ever mention this to anyone." K replied.

    "…Fair enough." Spike said, nodding.

    "Hard to believe huh?" J asked the room.

    "Huh?" Xander asked, "We live on a Hellmouth. We see demons everyday. We totally buy it."

    "We prefer to call them inter-dimensional aliens thanks. Riles them up being called demons." K replied.

    "Actually it doesn't, but whatever floats your boat mate." Spike added.

    "So…alien hunters…you guys ever deal with Queller demons, because they live on the moon." Buffy asked.

    "I think we should really get to the issue at hand ma'am. My partner and I have been tailing a very dangerous alien we call a Predator in this town since last night. Your blonde friend there helped me out when I ran into him in bar an inter-dimensional alien…. ah hell, a demon bar." K explained.

    "Same bugger we took on in the graveyard last night." Spike added to the story.

    "No wonder we couldn't research it." Robin Wood stated, as he eyed J. Something about him was familiar.

    "That was an alien?" Buffy asked.

    "Wow. We fought an alien." Tara smiled.

    "Get out the check sheet. Vampires, demons, robots, gods, people, and now aliens." Xander laughed, a little too excited. Willow was too.

    "We rule." She smirked.

    "Plus he had Harmony working with him." Spike said.

    The room erupted in laughter. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Spike were roaring in giggles. Tara joined in, less familiar with Harmony, but laughter was addictive. Even Kennedy snickered a little.

    "Phew. Okay now, hee hee, back to business." Buffy said before laughing again, "Oh she never learns does she? Okay, I'm good now. I am. So let me guess, you think we should work together on this?"

    "No I do not. I think it's stupid and overly reckless to bring in civilians on this, but Blondie had other ideas." K said looking to Spike.

    "Stupid and reckless sums it up." Robin said in reply.

    Spike merely flipped him the bird.

    "Well normally I'd go with Spike on this, but you may be right. You guys are professionals and should take out the alien. We have a big vampire problem to deal with at current, so we just need to stick with what we know." Buffy stated.

    "Nice to see someone with a strategic mind here." K smiled, "Now we can get to the neuralizing."

    "About time." J said, uncomfortable at Robin's glances and wishing he hadn't run into his old friend and had to neuralize him once already that morning.

    "Yeah, 'bout that time, but you see I figure we go another road. I got me a once in a lifetime idea that benefits folk like us in these situations." Spike smirked, "So hold off with the memory erasing because you'll like this."

    "What is it?" Buffy asked, wondering what the most wonderful man in the world (for returning Mr. Pointy to her) was thinking.

    "We each got our problems right. Big mean vampire in town wants us dead. Big mean alien in town also wants us dead. So I thinks to myself, self we should help ourselves help each other." Spike smirked.

    "Are you insinuating—" K began.

    Spike grinned sardonically.

    "You're bloody right I am. One night only, live from Sunnydale, we got Bacchus versus the Predator, twelve full rounds, last nasty standing. Then we all jump in and waste whoever's left." Spike said smiling.

    "I like this plan." Buffy smirked in a way that looked so evil that Spike would have appreciated it when he was soulless.

    "That's just a tad too risky." K stated, "I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea."

    "Hold on K. I'm liking how it sounds. Yeah, we each got our problems right? So we just let our monsters fight, kill each other, then neuralize these guys when it's all done." J said as he put his hand to his chin.

    "Can we not be neuralized?" Buffy asked.

    "No." J and K said at once.

    "WE'RE GONNA BE NEAURALIZED!" Xander shouted causing Willow to squeal in joy.

    "I really worry about those two." Spike said to Tara, who merely nodded.

    "Neuralize? What's that?" Kennedy asked, confused.

    "You're really just going to play with our memories?" Robin asked, wondering where he'd seen J before.

    "It's not so hard. You get used to it." J stated, "Well not you specifically, I mean it's not like I've neuralized you before or anything. Just you know…saying is all."

    "Okay, I'm still going with my idea to neuralize everyone here and maybe blow off the vampire's head." K said, putting his sunglasses on.

    "Not so fast." Buffy started, "Willow here can erase memories too. With a gesture. You go to erase ours, we erase yours."

    "What?" Willow asked, with a hint of sadness at not being neuralized, but then got over it, "Yeah! I can even erase Spike's memory!"

    Spike shuddered, "Randy Giles. God that was scary."

    "And you might not be able to erase Tara's mind either since she's technically supernatural too. And if you even point a gun at her I'll take your skin off. I've done it before." Willow said defensively.

    "Awww. Thank you sweetheart." Tara smiled.

    "Would you do that for me?" Kennedy pouted.

    "Kennedy too." Willow added.

    "Awww." Kennedy said kissing Willow. It was a small peck that suddenly became an open mouth kiss. Then tongue came into play and the girls did these little moans. They were soon the center of attention.

    "Um guys." Buffy started.

    "Buffy for God's sake don't interrupt this." Xander said, eyes wide.

    "Yeah, just let it go." J added, watching with a grin.

    Buffy sighed and looked over to a leering Spike. She shot him a look and immediately he snapped out of it.

    "Girls." Tara said, "Business first. Pleasure later."

    "Oh right. Sorry." Willow said sheepishly.

    "Well she is, but not me." Kennedy smirked.

    "There's no way in hell I'm going to be able to talk you out of all this am I?" K asked, looking at Buffy.

    "None. We team up now; we play with each other's minds later." Buffy said extending a hand.

    K took it and shook it. Then he grimaced in pain as to how a girl who weighed all of a hundred pounds had a grip like Andre the Giant.

    The trunk of the MIBs' car opened and Xander immediately seemed as turned on as he had been when he saw Willow and Kennedy kissing.

    "OH. MY. GOD!" Xander said with excitement.

    "These are some of our weapons. Since you seem to have some degree of firearms training, it's probably best that you help us out here." K said as Xander drooled over the gigantic plasma cannon.

    "Yes…help…is that thing nuclear? 'Cause there was this one time…when we fought Cthullu and this guy had like shoulder mounted nuclear missiles and he was all "Hey, you're gonna be sterile" and I was like no way. Can that happen?" Xander asked.

    "Just give him the damn Noisy Cricket." J groaned.

    "Okay, Spike said that he told Harmony to take the Predator to that construction site, but we have no way of knowing if she actually did take it there." Willow started.

    "So what do we do?" Tara asked.

    "Can Poe fly yet?"

    "I t-think he's a little too weak just yet."

    "I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT WEAK!" Poe squawked, "Just cautious."

    "One day I'm going to do a spell to figure out what he's saying." Willow smiled.

    "You might not like what you hear." Tara said, petting her crow, "Maybe we could do a locator spell? Like that time in college when we tried to locate the Polgara demon?"

    "You remember how to do it?" Willow asked.

    "Yeah. We do the spell, and the map has little dots of light. Different ones for different demons. If a vampire light pops up at that site, we at least know Harmony is there. The Predator might even show up if we compensate and look for things that aren't demons, but aren't human either." Tara said, with a confidence that made Willow proud.

    "You always were better at the fine details than me." Willow smiled, "But you'll have to try and drag Kennedy out of the basement to help you. I need to surf the net. Find out what I can about Bacchus, if anything. Maybe e-mail Giles. I just hope he's not afraid of computers anymore."

    "You think Kennedy can really help with the spell?" Tara asked.

    "Oh sure. You just blow powder." Willow replied.

    "One more time?" Kennedy asked, looking at the abundance of powder on the floor.

    Tara sighed.

    "How to say this? Kennedy, sweetheart, you know I love you, but I think maybe you should stick to the slaying and steer clear of the magick." Tara winced as she said.

    "Okay, just as long as you do something for me." Kennedy grinned.

    "Striptease?" Tara asked, playfully.

    "You damn right." Kennedy smiled.

    Buffy repeatedly fired her hands into the punching bag downstairs as Robin strained against it, holding it in place. She had been delivering blow after blow for over five minutes straight and quite frankly, he was feeling it through the bag! Still he gritted his teeth and flexed, pushing into the bag with all of his superior size and weight. Still the punches came, followed by the occasional kick that hurt his ribs even through the body bag.

    "Maybe I AM getting too old for this shit?" he thought, "Nah. But where's Spike when you need him to take a beating?"

    "You're serious?" Spike asked Willow.

    "Well yeah. I mean if you want to find a vampire, you have to think like one. And since you already do think like one—"

    "Yeah. Got ya." Spike said, "This go to getting me some more points to actually being treated like a person even if I'm a not exactly said person?"

    "As long as you don't kidnap me and try to turn me, yeah." Willow nodded.

    "Alright then. Let's see, I'm an old vampire who likes to play around with people. I'll need somewhere dark, cool, and big." Spike started.

    "Big for minions?" Willow asked.

    "Maybe, but Bacchus doesn't strike me as the minion having kind. He's more the do it yourself model. I mean he very well might have minions though. The guy was worshipped as a god after all. God of wine at that! The vineyard?" Spike asked.

    "The one Connor lived in?" Willow questioned.

    "Nah, I doubt it. Peaches Jr. wouldn't have gone to New York with the Bit if it was, seeing as how Big Bad woulda eaten him. Any other vineyards in town?" Spike said, sitting beside her.

    "Let me check." Willow said typing on the keys on her laptop, "Nope. Jeez, twelve cemeteries in town, but just one vineyard."

    "Okay, so he's probably not there. But the guy was the god of wine, and he still goes by Bacchus, so he's still connected to that. He may not be at the vineyard, but I'll wager a few pounds that he's close." Spike said staring at the computer screen.

    "So you think he's still looking at himself like a god?" Willow asked.

    "Yeah. I think so. Most big evil types do see themselves that way. I know I did. Now where would I be if I was a vampire god?" Spike thought.

    "A TEMPLE! Or wait…ooh a church!" Willow said suddenly, "Those lessons with Stephen are paying off.  He told me gods are real showy people. They like to think about how big and powerful they are and their homes usually reflect that. Remember how Glory lived in that big penthouse?"

    "Yeah Red, but the only problem there is that a church is consecrated ground. It's gotta be condemned or something before a vamp would ever set foot in it and still be comfortable." Spike explained.

    Willow smirked as she looked at the computer screen.

    "Yeah, and not a mile from it is that old church you used for that ritual when you kidnapped Angel." Willow said smugly.

    "You might want to go and get Glinda and the other bin…. girl's mind back on business then, because I hear "You Look So Fine" by Garbage playing upstairs." Spike said.

    "That's Tara's stripping song. Don't worry I'll get them to work. And we'll find out whether a vampire is living there or not." Willow said getting up.

    "Can I use your computer?" Spike asked.

    "Uh sure. Why?" Willow asked.

    "See if my horse came in." Spike grinned.

    "Oh, gambling…. uh sure. I'll be back." Willow said, heading up stairs.

    Spike turned and smirked.

    "Let's see…. history…and voila. Oh Red, you've been a very wicked little witch haven't you? Lesbian porn. Lesbian porn. God I love living here." Spike chuckled.

    "What do we have?" Buffy asked as everyone was gathered in the dining room a few short hours later.

    "Tara and I managed to do the locator spell. There's a definite vampire trace at the Sunnydale Arms construction site. And there's something else non-human." Willow explained, "And we did the same for that old church where Spike thought Bacchus might be held up. One very strong vamp signal there."

    "How can we be sure that's your guy though?" K asked.

    "Vampires usually live in nests. You find one you find another. Older ones usually live alone but have minions nearby." Robin began to explain.

    "Were there any other traces?" Buffy asked.

    "No. Not even in the sewers near there. It's weird. Almost like a trap." Willow said.

    "It's not a trap. I can smell a trap a thousand miles away. They're just afraid of him. Powerful, super old nasty shows up in town and the demon world usually stays clear of them, feel them out at first before showing any reverence." Spike answered.

    "Okay about the construction site, shouldn't there be people there working?" K asked.

    Xander smiled proudly, "You're looking at the foreman. Work's been called off for the day because of a gas leak, which while in essence is a lie, when the place gets badly damaged like we know it will it'll cover my ass. Plus, you know, no snacks for Harmony."

    "Or trophies for our Predator." K chimed in, "So I'm guessing that Agent J and I will be stationed at that front?"

    "With Xander. He knows that place like the back of his hand and can help with the shooting. Spike and Willow will join you there after sunset. I need my best fighter and my gun there." Buffy said to her lover and her friend.

    "What about the rest of us?" Robin asked.

    "I need you guys to hang back. You're all the back up we'll have if it gets too bad. I know you guys have skills, but this Predator could've killed us all. And we know that Bacchus has killed lots of Slayers. Normal humans won't stand much of a chance with him, even if they are you guys. As for you," Buffy said turning to Tara, "you're still a little out of it. We don't know how badly hurt you really are. Don't come out there unless we absolutely need you. And you two, don't dare come out there without Tara."

    Robin and Kennedy nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

    J tossed Robin a communicator.

    "If worse comes to worse though, you can call in some MIB reinforcements in the area quarantining the Predator's ship. They'll come and help blow the shit out of these guys if you decide you need them.

    "Okay." Robin nodded.

    "And don't get all cocky and everything. It got your ass kicked by that Bebop guy back in New York enough times when you were a teenager." J warned.

    "What? How did you know about that?" Robin asked, mouth agape.

    J sighed and put on his sunglasses. K did likewise as he reached for his Neuralizer. A bright flash of light immediately flashed through the room.

    "And don't you say anything to him." J said to Spike.

    "Barely like the wanker." Spike replied.

    "I won't either." Tara said sheepishly, "Flashy thing doesn't work on me either."

    "Alrighty then kids, I just have one little question now." K said, turning to Buffy, "Where are you going to be in all this?"

    "Me? I'm going to church." Buffy answered quickly.

    "You're going to try and lure Bacchus out by yourself?" Willow asked incredulously.

    "Yep. I'm going hunting just like I need to. He's going to pay for the lives of all of those children." Buffy answered.

    "Well, won't he be like faster than you since he's so old?" Willow asked, worried.

    "Well Red, the Slayer's got a few tricks up her sleeve." Spike started, "I reckon she can make him limp after her just a bit."

    "Well still, that's really risky." Willow replied.

    "Willow, I can do this. I'm going to lure him out and have him chase me across town. More than that I'm going to try and go in before sunset, so I can put some distance between us before he can chase me down. But I also want your help on this one." Buffy said to her friend.

    "What do you need?" Willow asked.

    "Keep in contact with me in my head. If it gets too bad or I can't get him to follow me, I want you to teleport me out of there. Then I want you to nail his ass with one of those fireballs you tried to kill Jonathan and Andrew with." Buffy explained, "It might kill him or slow him down enough for us to finish the job after we take care of the Predator."

    "Okay. I'll do my best." Willow said nodding.

    "I know you will. Now I think its time to get ready." Buffy said.

    "Time to saddle up?" Xander asked with a smile.

    "Boy howdy." Buffy replied.

    A jewelry box full of silver rings was emptied onto the table. They were carefully put on until one was on each finger. Each ring had a single cross emblem on them. A carpenter's belt was attached at the waist. It didn't contain nails or tape measurers today. It had garlic, small bottles of Holy Water, crossbow bolts, and the occasional wooden stake, one of which was Mr. Pointy. Spike's wrist mounted crossbow adorned her arm like a bracelet. She pulled on the leather jacket given to her by Angel long ago. A battle-axe hung to her back by a strap. She slowly pulled on combat boots, with crosses cut into the soles to add a little extra kick. Twin bowie knives were then placed in the boots themselves. She anointed her head with oil, and drew a crucifix pattern on her forehead. In her arms, she held the largest water gun that Xander could find, completely filled with Holy Water. All in all, Buffy was a sight to behold when she turned to her friends and allies.

    "Be very, very quiet. I'm hunting vampires." She smirked.

    "And you just blew the whole badass image." Spike groaned.

    "Did not!" Buffy yelled back.


	11. Give us this, our daily PAIN!

    The Predator threw down its ruined helmet in anger and disgust. It was useless now. His plasma cannon was useless now. This was not the path of a Hunt Master. It had been duped and played by one of the lesser ones: one of the unworthy things that were not acceptable under the circumstances of the hunt. Punching a concrete support column inside the Sunnydale Arms' foundation and leaving a small crater brought it little joy. It was still angry. Still furious. Still amazingly PISSED.

    "I see you have anger management issues. I understand that. In high school, there was like this guy who took his mom's birth control pills and went nuts and killed his girlfriend." Harmony said, unaware as to just HOW close she was to becoming a pile of dust.

    Still the Predator maintained himself and sat. His wounds needed dressing. He began to break out the "First Aid" kit, if that's what you wanted to call it. A bowl, and some crystals poured in, when added to other materials present created a fairly effective liquid poultice. Stirring the materials it tried to block out Harmony's prattling as best it could. It had no idea what she was going on about. It didn't matter. Only taking Slay-Er mattered. Only that.

    Harmony watched the Predator as it applied its dressings and winced when it groaned in pain. She moved closer and dipped a few of her fingers in the liquid. Turning to the Predator she moved to apply the substance to a wound, only to have her forearm gripped tightly in the Predator's hand. Harmony winced and vamped out in pain as the Predator eyed her growling.

    "I'm sorry." She cried as the pressure built on her arm, "I just want to help."

    The Predator growled and tossed her backwards to the ground. Harmony instantly stood up and felt a little braver.

    "You're really rude you know that?!" She yelled at the alien, "I was just trying to help you!"

    The Predator tried to ignore her. What's more, Harmony noticed.

    "Oh. Yeah, I see that's how it'll be. Ignore Harmony. Just like everyone else." The vampire said sitting across from the Predator, "I get that all the time. Did anyone ever look at me when Cordelia was around? No, I was just her friend. I wasn't important. Then hello, graduation happens, the Mayor turns into a big anaconda and I get bitten. That's okay for a while, killing and hurting, but it gets empty after a while you know? Of course you don't. You're ignoring me."

    She sighed and leaned back into a support column.

    "Then there was Spike. You know I really thought he liked me. I would have died for him, but no. He has to have his precious Gem of Amara, and he has to kill the Slayer. Then he falls in love with her and forgets about me." Harmony sighed, "I really try sometimes you know? I really try to be evil and be a villain and everything but I always screw it up. All I'm good for is getting slapped around and stripping. I really screwed up hooking up with you didn't I? You're meaner than Spike ever was to me. At least he talked to me…oh wait. You don't speak English. Right. At first I thought things were going to be cool having a demon like you helping me out, but you're just like everyone else. You ignore me because I'm not even important and I don't matter. I'm still just Cordelia's friend who happened to turn into a vampire."

    Harmony sighed and looked up. The Predator was watching her quietly. It had actually been listening to her. It looked at her and started to make a sound, like a bizarre reverberation of her own voice. 

    "Friend." It said, cocking its head.

    Harmony looked at the large alien and smiled a little through her fangs. The Predator shrugged and looked down, and began to dress it wounds again. What the hell? She was loyal after all.

    "So are you sure we're inconspicuous?" Xander asked K.

    "Perfectly." K replied looking through what seemed to be a child's view master.

    "K, I don't know man. I'm not so sure we are." J stated.

    "Why's that Slick?" K asked.

    "We're sitting across the street in the car in broad daylight." J replied, "What's going to keep the Predator from coming out and filleting us?"

    "Yeah, maybe it's just me but I definitely don't want to be filleted." Xander added.

    "Okay, well first of all do you know the difference between a Shi'Ar travel transport and battle transport?" K asked.

    "Well, no." J said.

    "Then how in the hell is a Predator going to know this is a MIB car?"

    "What's a Shi'Ar?" Xander asked.

    "Okay, what's the second thing?" J questioned.

    "What second thing?" K said, looking at J oddly.

    "You said first of all. That usually means there's a second of all." J replied.

    "Oh, well second of all, if you'd shut up it won't hear us." K snapped, "Sorry Tiger. The pressure's getting to me."

    "So you get anything on that thermal readout?" Xander asked.

    "Had to readjust it several times to work on different harmonics because Predator's have different body chemistry than us. Thermal's no good." K explained, "Ultrasonics however are another issue. We have two beings inside. One is most definitely a Predator. The other seems to be the valley girl who was helping him earlier."

    "Harmony." Xander said.

    "I thought her name was Buffy?" J asked.

    "No Buffy's on our side. Harmony's the bad guy. Well actually Harmony's pretty much an idiot." Xander pointed out.

    "Damn and here I thought the chick going after the vampire was named Harmony." J said.

    "Clean your ears our Slugger." K said.

    "Okay, so BUFFY is going after the big vampire guy right?" J asked.

    "Yes." Xander and K said together.

    "Can she handle it?" J asked.

    "Not a clue." K replied.

    "Oh yeah. Buffy's good. She eats ancient vampires for breakfast…well not literally. 'Cause that would be gross." Xander stated.

    "Very." J said, "Still, what's she going to do to the guy? She's like eighty pounds."

    "Two words. Compact muscle."

    Buffy looked at the church cautiously and mused about the last time she came here. Spike had kidnapped Angel for a spell to restore Drusilla's strength. Buffy and her then Sister in Slaying, Kendra had come to the rescue. It ended with Angel saved and Spike underneath a large pipe organ. Now, almost six years later it all seemed so weird. Kendra had died and Angel was in L.A. with a permanent soul sleeping with Cordelia of all people, and Buffy was sharing a bed with Spike. This was confusing.

    Slowly she rolled one sleeve of her leather jacket up and took one of the knives from her boots. She cut her arm just enough to let the skin break and the blood flow ever so slightly. She wanted Bacchus to know she was here.

    Buffy walked across the street, Holy Water gun in hand. She hoped this went smoothly. Still, she had fire now. This creature had toyed with them all. It had killed children to get her attention. It was like an animal. No, animals weren't so cruel. This thing was a demon through and through. Well demons could be hunted like animals. They could be killed like them.

    After all, if it can bleed it can die.

    "Buffy? You doing okay?" Willow asked in her head.

    "Just fine." Buffy thought back, "I'm heading over now."

    "Yeah I see. I have your perspective going on here. It's like watching a movie." Willow replied.

    "Well lets hope it's not horror. Maybe a cute romantic comedy with me aside Ashton Kutcher, but I'll take what I can get." Buffy thought back again.

    "Are you scared?"

    "Petrified."

    "Want me to stop asking questions and let you focus?"

    "Might be a good idea. Just stay linked up in case I need you okay Wills?"

    "I got you. Over and out."

    "Over and out?"

    "It just seemed like the thing to say…think…whatever."

    Buffy almost laughed at that, but held it in. She was going to war. Originally her Slayer senses had been weak compared to Faith, Kendra, or any other Slayer she had ever read or heard about. But now they were screaming. They were screaming the way they had when she and Faith fought Kakistos. They were screaming the way they had when she first ran into the Turok-Han AKA Ubervamp. Like they had when the Master had drowned her. That last one unnerved her. If she died this time then it might be the last. Third time's a charm after all.

    She peeked into a hole that had been left by the fire that had broken out by the last battle that occurred here. She saw nothing and moved along, right before the figure moved past the hole from the inside. Her senses had her look back. And again she saw nothing. There was nothing there. Nonetheless, a stream of Holy Water went into the hole. Just in case.

    Buffy walked along the perimeter, looking for any signs of the master vampire. She looked for anything she could use to her advantage in the brewing fight. She found two things: Jack and shit. Her senses still tingling, she moved on looking at a stained glass window. She remembered how little light those things actually allowed in. She made note of it.

    That was right before two hands ripped through the wall of the church, pulling her inside forcefully making an entrance for her. How's that for a twist? Bet you didn't see that one coming.

    Buffy flew through the air and slammed in a heap. Bacchus stood by the newly formed entrance and looked at her.

    "So glad you came." Bacchus smiled.

    "I'm thrilled too sweetie." Buffy said, firing a stream of Holy Water at the vampire. Unfortunately, he was no longer there.

    Buffy was batted across the room into a wall, her axe coming loose and landing on the floor. Instinctively she grabbed it and lobbed it towards Bacchus's current location. It stuck into the wall that had previously been behind him. She turned and threw a kick to the oncoming Bacchus that actually made him back up.

    "You guys get so predictable." Buffy said firing the Holy Water.

    Bacchus effortless sidestepped it.

    "I'm sorry; I'll try to be more original in the future." Bacchus said quickly disarming her and throwing the water gun to the side.

    Buffy threw a punch and Bacchus blocked it. She threw another, which was also blocked. She went for a spinning roundhouse kick that Bacchus again blocked. Bacchus smiled. Then Buffy smiled back.

    "I got ya." Buffy smirked.

    Bacchus looked down at the stake imbedded in his chest. He merely pulled it out and snapped it in two. Buffy's smile fell.

    "True, but I have quite a lot of muscle there dear Slayer. Not to mention bone. You're going to have a hard time getting one of those through to my heart." Bacchus said, backhanding her.

    Buffy rolled with in and changed her momentum turning into a cartwheel righting herself before handspring backwards and landing on her feet to pull her axe out of the wall.

    "More than one way to slay a vamp." Buffy quipped.

    "So true. Yet it won't do you much good." Bacchus laughed demonically as he approached her.

    Buffy hefted the axe and threw it, sending it tumbling towards the master vampire. He seemed very unconcerned about the attack. All the better. For a moment everything was in slow motion. The axe somersaulting towards Bacchus. Bacchus's defiant laugh and unthreatened nature. And Buffy again rolling towards her water gun. She gripped it in her hands just as Bacchus brought both palms to the blade of the axe, stopping it in mid air.

    "Made ya look." Buffy said, firing a stream of Holy Water on the vampire.

    This time it actually connected and Bacchus groaned in pain as the water burned him like acid. Flipping the axe in his hands, he threw it back at Buffy, who barely managed to evade it. Still her jacket suffered for it. Bacchus rushed forward and Buffy swung her water gun into one of his horns, rupturing it, and making the contents spill forth on the vampire's head. Bacchus screamed in pain as his skin began to melt.

    He groaned again when Buffy successfully punched him in the jaw with her rings. Her silver rings; with crosses on them. She threw a right and then a left, and then another right, always leaving the telltale burn marks of the cross behind on the vampire's skin.

    Bacchus blindly swiped with a claw and just slightly got the end of Buffy's nose as she moved back. Buffy began bleeding from the small wound and she fell backwards, lifting her legs in the air as Bacchus followed her down, hands outstretched. The Bowie knives left her boots as she fell. She turned them and stabbed one into either hand of the vampire. Bacchus roared in pain as his hands erupted into flame, and Buffy rolled back.

    "MY HANDS!" Bacchus yelled in shock.

    "Hurts don't it? Well that's what happens when a priest has blessed said knives." Buffy quipped.

    Bacchus whimpered then laughed as he easily pulled the blades from his hands and tossed them to the floor like they were nothing. Buffy's heart skipped a beat. That was new. Before her eyes, the wounds on Bacchus's hands and face sealed up.

    "You're resourceful. Very resourceful. I admire that." Bacchus said circling her, "But you'll have to do a lot better than that if you want to fight me."

    "I thought we were." Buffy said throwing a punch that was caught and twisted behind her back. Bacchus held her close to him, tightly.

    "No. I'm just playing with you. I want you to fight harder as I know you can." Bacchus smiled, "Stop me from making you my whore."

    Buffy felt Bacchus touch her jeans in a very improper way and tried to fight back, but he merely twisted her arm tighter as his hand slipped around her waist. A claw started to unbutton her pants. Buffy felt a wave of panic. Spike had nearly raped her. Now this thing wanted to. She struggled again and only got her arm wrenched tighter. Bacchus licked her face.

    "You'll beg me for more." The vampire hissed in her ear.

    "Buffy! Let me bring you out!" Willow's voice filled her head.

    "N-No." Buffy gritted he teeth, trying to resist the force on her arm.

    "What was that lover?" Bacchus said tightening it again and playing with her zipper.

    "Buffy for God's sake I'm bringing you out!" Willow shouted in her mind.

    "No." Buffy said more firmly.

    Bacchus chuckled.

    "Nothing but a vampire's whore, but then again that's your life story isn't it?" Bacchus whispered.

    "BUFFY I'M GOING TO—"

    "NO!!!!" Buffy said mule kicking Bacchus right in the balls, making his grip slack and then flipping him over her front. Her hand dove into her belt and produced a bottle of Holy Water that she smashed over the fallen vampire's head, making sure it got right in her eyes, "NO ONE EVER DOES THAT TO ME YOU BASTARD! NO ONE!"

    Buffy stomped Bacchus's head and zipped and buttoned her jeans.

    "I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVEN THINKING ABOUT THAT!" the Slayer roared as she brought her foot down. Bacchus rolled to the side and stood backing away.

    "There's the fire I spoke of." Bacchus grinned as his eyes healed, just in time to see a cross cut in the soul of a boot come for his face making him stagger.

    "FIRE? I'M A FUCKING SUN RIGHT NOW!" Buffy roared as she delivered blow after blow, withdrawing stakes from her belt and slamming one after the other into the vampire's chest hoping to penetrate the heart and make this creature dust.

    Bacchus backed up; so intense was Buffy's rage. She had been in her bathroom, Spike atop her trying to force himself on her. She was screaming and crying and struggling, but her back was hurt so she couldn't fight as well as she had hoped. But then something inside just snapped. Spike was thrown off and the only thing that had saved his life right then was the fact that her back was injured. Well Bacchus had made her snap again, and right now her back felt pretty damned good. No one did that to her; not Spike, not the First, and most certainly not Bacchus.

    Still, the rage blinded her and using the awesome celerity of a vampire one blow penetrated her fiery tornado. And when you were as strong as Bacchus, one was all that was needed to send you flying.

    "Oh you're good Slayer. This is definitely living up to expectations." Bacchus said, pulling stake after stake from his muscular chest, "You're everything you're billed as. I'm confident that were I the same age I had fought Xena at fighting you, I would be very dead. Unluckily for you, there's only one outcome in this fight."

    Buffy found her axe and hefted it.

    "Yeah, you're going to die too quickly so I can't get any satisfaction." Buffy growled.

    There was blurring. Something forcefully cut the handle of Buffy's axe and made a small breeze as it passed her head. A round circle returned to Bacchus's hand.

    "My dear Xena's chakram. I have kept it in fighting condition all these years." Bacchus said hooking the weapon to his belt.

    "Yeah you're just swell at Frisbee." Buffy growled.

    Buffy was rapidly running out of ammo here. She looked to her wrist. The small crossbow was ruined, snapped to pieces from one of her falls. Her water gun was nonexistent. Her axe was chopped in two. She couldn't stake him. She had bottles of Holy Water, but they were just annoyances. And garlic was out of the question at this point. She had to use the terrain to her advantage. She glanced around and saw a large wooden beam not far from the pipe organ that had fallen on Spike during that last encounter here. She looked to Bacchus and slowly positioned herself.

    "You know what's sad Bacchus? Other than you claiming to be a god that is. I mean I've met gods. They're not competent and here you are a wannabe. That's sad, but not near as sad as still holding a torch for some three thousand year old dead Greek Amazon who probably never shaved an inch of her body." Buffy smirked.

    "She was glorious." Bacchus growled.

    "Gloriously ugly. I bet Xena means "Bitch who fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down and then got ran over by a chariot" in Greek." Buffy laughed slightly, "What's more she never gave a damn about you. Here you are, obsessed like a little puppy dog over a girl that despised you. Someone who would never touch you."

    "Shut up." Bacchus said in a low voice.

    Buffy mentally braced herself.

    "Face it Bacchy, she never loved you. She despised looking at you. All you were to her, and still are, is a pathetic, evil little parasite without a soul." Buffy grinned, "And if that little bump I felt was all you have to offer, well no wonder you have to kill Slayers because with what you're… I hate to say "packing"… they'd never sleep with you."

    Bacchus charged almost a blur. Had Buffy not been ready he would have been all but invisible, and she would be dead. But she was ready so it's moot. When he was in reach, she flipped him backwards and he flew through the air. His own momentum was his enemy and he couldn't control it.

    He could right it though. And he did.

    Bacchus landed on his feet right behind the beam that stuck up in the air like a giant stake. With a vicious backhand he snapped it in two and roared loudly at Buffy. She slowly backed away. She did it quickly when he started to pick up the pipe organ. She barely avoided it by ducking under it, as it slammed into the wall behind her, collapsing it. An instant later, she was in Bacchus's grip as he began to violently choke her. She reached for Mr. Pointy, the last stake on her belt, her fingers tightened over it but then they began to go limp. Her hand fell to the side, as breathing became an issue.

    Then her foot hit the axe blade on the ground at just the right angle sending it up to her to her hand. She slashed Bacchus's throat, making him release her. He backed away, his throat healing almost instantly.

    "You really think that would kill me, bitch?" Bacchus asked, as his voice went from gravelly and shrill to normal with each word.

    "No, but I'm guessing it's not a good thing this church faces west." Buffy said, chucking the axe blade to the stained glass window from earlier. The glass shattered and the setting sun's last rays shone through the portal and fell upon Bacchus, who smoked and burned in rage. What? You didn't think she was really going to sacrifice her favorite stake just to break a window did you? S'yeah right. 

    "Work on your tan." Buffy said, turning and running for the front door as Bacchus dropped to one knee, burning and smoking but sadly not dusting.

    "Willow I've got him subdued for a minute. I need you to do something for me!" Buffy thought as loud as she could.

    "What?" Willow's voice replied.

    "HIT THIS CHURCH WITH THAT FIREBALL THING!" Buffy shouted in her thoughts.

    Willow sighed and walked outside to the back porch.

    "Goodness gracious." She said as a small ball of fire developed in her hand, then shot into the air, growing in size as it went along, "I know there's a joke in there somewhere."

    Buffy was out on the pavement just as a large ball of flame blasted the church, making it explode. The shockwave sent her tumbling to the ground. She covered her head as best she could, and inhaled the scent of her own singed hair. She looked back and smiled as an inferno stood in place of the desecrated house of worship. She slowly stood and acknowledged the good work her friend had done, just as her Slayer senses went nuts again.

    "You've got to be kidding." Buffy said aloud as she saw a dark shape walking through the fire.

    It came closer and closer until it exited the flames and stood recognized as the charred blackened body of Bacchus, scorched by fire, scorched by the small amount of sunlight still available. Bacchus looked at Buffy satanically.

    "Not enough gun." Bacchus grunted.

    "Willow? You there?" Buffy said mentally.

    "Yeah?"

    "We made him mad."


	12. Who will survive

    "Let me hit him with another fireball!" Willow cried in Buffy's head.

    "No Wills, that's okay." Buffy said as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her and slid over the hood of a car, Dukes of Hazzard style.

    "Are you absolutely sure?" Willow asked, somewhat afraid for her friend.

    "Yeah. I think the first one really slowed him down." Buffy replied, glancing over her shoulder.

    The car she slid across flipped backwards and tumbled as Bacchus followed her quickly, albeit limping and smoking to the last little rays of the sun hitting his skin. He roared in rage as his huge fangs were bared for the entire world to see.

    "Of course if this is him slowed down, I never want to see him sped up." Buffy replied with her thoughts.

    "Let me teleport you out of there!" Willow's voice said again.

    "No dice. This has to be played out perfectly. If I just fade out, he won't follow me to the construction site. He doesn't do that, and then Spike's plan won't work. And he just burns my house down later." Buffy replied as she ran by a mail box that Bacchus just trampled as he pursued.

    "What do I do though? I feel helpless." Willow's voice came again.

    "You and Spike get to the site. I'll be there soon." Buffy said to her friend.

    "You sure?" Willow asked.

    "Yeah. Right as soon as I'm done playing Frogger with this guy." Buffy smirked.

    "Say what?" Willow asked.

    Buffy darted into Main Street and Bacchus followed. Buffy paused in the middle of the street and turned to her pursuer. She sent her most potent kick at the demon, stopping him dead in the street, but doing very little harm to him.

    "I'll drink you slowly to prolong your agony." Bacchus snarled.

    "And I'll be sure to laugh when that bus hits you." Buffy smiled as she flipped backwards.

    "Bus?" Bacchus asked, as he turned and saw the speeding vehicle mere inches from his face, "Well son of a—"

    Bacchus was struck hard and went down, the bus running over his body, breaking an arm, crushing in his ribs, and generally making his life a living hell for the moment. And true to her word, Buffy did laugh.

    "I bet they didn't have those in ancient Greece." Buffy remarked before wistfully looking to the sky, "But this just makes me wonder, where do I go from here?"

    "To Hell." Bacchus said in pain as he rose. His ribs began to fill back out and he straightened his arm to where it was functional again.

    Buffy looked at the demon and sighed.

    "I'll tell you what I tell every other vamp that says that to me: save me a seat." Buffy quipped.

    "I'll have that carved on your tombstone, after I take up the speeding issues with the local politicians." Bacchus growled.

    "Good luck. If experience tells me anything it's that politicians are worse than the demons in this town." Buffy replied, "So we going to get past the threatening stage and have you actually do something?"

    "In…a moment." Bacchus said, still smoldering a bit from Willow's magick missile and from the sun. Instants later, the sun finally set and the smoldering stopped. Bacchus stood up straight and popped his neck with a grin, "Much better. Now I believe I was chasing you?"

    "Yep and getting flattened like a coyote." Buffy said as she began to turn and run.

    "Your reference is lost on me." Bacchus said, beginning to limp after her.

    "Meep meep." Buffy replied.

    "Okay, I got one. Jennifer Lopez or Alyson Hannigan?" Xander asked.

    "Lopez, definitely Lopez. She's hotter." J answered.

    "No way dude! Alyson Hannigan is 'da bomb!" Xander replied, "Didn't you watch American Pie?"

     "She's not as hot as Lopez." J said again.

    "Well maybe not in your world, but to me she's way more desirable. Alyson's like someone you can hang out with and be friends with in addition to having that girl next door thing going on. Lopez is just a skank. She made a big deal out of staying in the same room Puff Daddy did. Insecure much?" Xander replied.

    "I see your point, but I can just neuralize Lopez's memory to the point where she wasn't a bitch." J answered.

    "Good point. But I'm still going with Alyson. Your turn." Xander said.

    "My turn? Okay, since you like American Pie so much, Shannon Elizabeth or…umm Sarah Michelle Gellar." J said.

    "Okay, let me think here." Xander said, "On one hand Buffy says that SMG's nose is big, but then again I think Buff just didn't like Cruel Intentions because Ryan Phillipe died. But I've dated a girl who had a body like Shannon, so I'm going to go with her. Okay, the very hot and skanky Christine Aguilera or someone down to earth and sexy like say…Amber Benson?"

    "Who's Amber Benson?" J asked.

    "She's an actress who's been in a lot of indie movies. I told Tara that she kind of looks like her, but she didn't believe me." Xander sighed.

    "Amber." K answered making J and Xander's heads turn to him.

    K just looked at them both.

    "What?" K asked.

    The three men were suddenly startled by a loud roar. They looked out the back window and saw Buffy running straight for them with Bacchus right on her tail.

    "Holy crap!" Xander said, "That guy DOES look like Tim Curry in Legend!"

    "Let's go to work." K said, grabbing his deatomizer as he and J exited the car.

    "Hey wait up!" Xander said struggling to get out as well.

    Buffy saw her allies up ahead and pumped her legs more furiously, though she was rapidly running out of breath. Bacchus was speeding up too. He had healed nearly completely now, meaning she was in trouble. She just forgot about the roars behind her, the occasional feel of a hand on her hair blowing in the wind, and the fact that Willow and Spike were teleporting in front of her. Wait a minute.

    Willow smiled, her eyes already ebon as black lightning spiraled out and slammed into Bacchus throwing him back. He was back up instantly flipping forward to avoid her new strikes. Spike grabbed Buffy and helped her along.

    "How'd it go?" Spike asked.

    "Bad." Buffy replied.

    "Want me to kick his ass?" Spike asked.

    Buffy looked at him as if he had grown another head.

    "My attempt at being funny didn't work did it?" he asked.

    "Failed miserably." Buffy replied again.

    The Predator stood up inside the bowels of the construction site. He heard thunder. Harmony was at his side.

    "What is that?" Harmony asked.

    The Predator didn't reply. He just extended his staff.

    Bacchus deftly avoided Willow's strikes, even when she tried to focus on where he would be rather than firing directly at him. Her reactions just weren't quick enough. She felt the rage boiling up in her, but she repressed it. She may not be hitting him, but she was keeping him from attacking Buffy or the others and that was the important thing. 

    However, now Bacchus was looking right at her as she was tiring from all those lightning blasts fired in just a few seconds of one another. Bacchus leapt for her and slammed into an invisible field. He looked at her puzzled.

    "I put that up when I noticed I couldn't hit you. Before you say anything, yes I am THAT damn good." Willow smirked as Bacchus eyed her, mere inches away, "Also can you say diversion?"

    Bacchus looked to his side and was suddenly filled full of holes. J and K fired on him, deatomizers at half power. The vampire roared and charged them. Willow nailed him with a blast of lightning sending him, tumbling forward. Bacchus rose again and shot a dirty glare to Willow, before being fired on again by the Men in Black.

    "Damn K! This guy is absorbing our shots man!" J shouted.

    "I had noticed." K replied, deadpan, "Bring them up a level."

    J lowered his weapon and began to work with it as K kept firing.

    "Level seven!" J said as he raised his deatomizer. K then lowered his to adjust its setting as J fired. K quickly raised it and together, the two partners fired.

    The only problem was that by now Bacchus had adjusted himself. He sidestepped each blast they sent at him, and even avoided Willow's lightning when he heard the air begin to sizzle and the heat raise ever so slightly.

    "Damn!" Willow said as he began to avoid her blasts, without even looking at her, "I'm going to have to try something else. Maybe freeze his motor functions. Okay, concentrate."

    Vampire hearing picked up her words and instantly Bacchus changed his position, making the MIB shots change their trajectory. Bacchus grinned as he avoided each and every shot. Said shots then collided with Willow's barrier.

    "Hey! Watch where you're shooting! On your side!" Willow shouted, her concentration broken.

    She also feared her barrier wouldn't last against the weapons that when at their highest level could incinerate someone. She upped the power of her barrier and sighed that their plan had been disrupted.

    Bacchus laughed as he began to walk forward, avoiding each and every shot, totally intent on killing both Men in Black. He knew that they would have to keep firing or he would kill them even sooner. That also kept the witch off his back because her concentration was broken. The Slayer and her vampire were also quite useless at the moment. If they walked into a firefight of this magnitude, then they would be destroyed. That left only…

    "Hey Tim!" Xander said as he held his Noisy Cricket aloft.

    Bacchus looked to the idiot human as he kept avoiding shots from the Men in Black. He let a small chuckle loose when he saw that the human held such a puny weapon in his hand.

    "Go ahead, punk. Make my day." Xander smirked as he fired.

    Bacchus went flying back into the construction site, with a rather large gaping wound in his chest. Xander likewise went back, flying into the trunk of the MIB car. With a dull thud, he slid down the trunk to the pavement.

    "Ow. Ow. OW!" he gritted through his teeth.

    "Xander!" Buffy said running up with Spike in tow, "Are you alright?"

    "Peachy." Xander groaned in pain.

    "Helluva kick on that thing." Spike remarked.

    "Yeah. Tell me about it." Xander said getting up, "Also remind me to thank Uncle Harry for telling me all those stories about him being a cop in back in the day. Really helped me with the shooting of the gun. And here comes the passing out."

    Buffy caught her friend before he hit the ground and managed to keep him awake.

    Willow and the Men in Black walked up.

    "Wow. Xander comes through again." Willow smiled, "I think he's earned a lesbian pillow fight."

    Everyone looked at her. Especially Xander.

    "What? I'm just saying is all." Willow said.

    "Think that did it?" J asked, changing the subject.

    "I'd think so." K replied.

    "How can you be sure?" Buffy asked.

    K merely pointed to the site.

    "Oh." Buffy replied.

    Bacchus stood slowly, the hole in him sealing up in mere seconds. He growled and looked up the hill at the idiots who dared to challenge him. He would move up and snap al their necks. Except the Slayer. He would torture her and make her beg before finally draining her of her essence. She would pay most dearly. Then Bacchus paused. He heard a heartbeat. A strong heartbeat. Bacchus turned and actually looked up at the creature behind him.

    The Predator regarded the creature in front of him with a quizzical cock of his head and then looked up the hill.

    "Slay-Er!" the Predator roared.

    Bacchus looked at the Predator's gaze at his foe. HIS Slayer. He didn't like that look. He had seen it so many times before. From Vikings, from Apache, from Slayers. It was a look that lusted for the kill. Bacchus shoved the Predator back with one hand.

    "She's mine!" Bacchus roared, with an almost insane air.

    The Predator didn't understand the unworthy creature's words and merely tried to walk past him to more worthy prey. Bacchus shoved him back again. The Predator looked at the creature and growled in warning to not do that again. Bacchus hissed back.

    The Predator strode forward again only to be thrown back by the unworthy vampire. The Predator growled and stood up. It may be an unworthy kill, but NO ONE dared treat a Hunt Master that way. NO ONE!

    The Predator jammed its staff right through Bacchus's mid section. Bacchus looked down and grinned before backhanding the alien and making him stumble back. The Predator roared and ran forward, striking Bacchus with a powerful right hand that made the demon stagger backwards. With a sickening jerk, his staff was pulled from Bacchus and slammed into the demon's head making it stagger again. The Predator twirled its staff and swung again. This time he connected with air and was puzzled.

    He then went flying through the air and hit the base of the hill with a thud. Bacchus laughed and strode forwards towards the Predator.

    "You know what? I'm going to tear you apart so those idiots can see what they're up against. To make their blood run cold." Bacchus laughed, "You'll be an example. Now be a good dog and lie still while I kill you."

    The staff went through Bacchus's head. The vampire staggered backwards and began wrenching the metal staff from his head.

    "Oh." Bacchus said pulling it out, the hole sealing up, "So that's how it's going to be."

    "Shouldn't we jump in?" Spike asked, watching the battle and feeling more than his fair share of bloodlust.

    "Nope. We stay out of it for now." K added, "We just kick them back into play if they try to get out."

    The Predator tackled Bacchus and slammed him into the concrete wall of the half constructed building. The wall cracked and spider-webbed. Bacchus lifted the Predator and slammed him into the wall likewise, cracking and weakening it more. The Predator hissed its four pronged mouth opening and dripping saliva. Bacchus growled likewise and began to hammer the Predator's head with vampire celerity.

    The Predator's head shook back and forth reeling from the blows. Fluorescent blood splattered on the wall as each blow brought more and more to the surface. The Predator stood there dazed and shaky as Bacchus backed up and popped his knuckles.

    "Time to end this charade." Bacchus said as he sent his fist forward as fast as he could.

    The Predator rolled to the side and extended his claws. He sent them into Bacchus's back and pushed them upwards as Bacchus's hand sank into the concrete, creating quite the hole. Bacchus groaned in pain as the Predator warbled and pushed the claws deeper.

    "Good dog." It said as it twisted the claws.

    Bacchus threw his head back violently, and with a powerful headbutt sent the Predator backing away in pain. He then grunted and produced his hand from the concrete. He turned and looked at the Predator.

    "You're beginning to bore me." Bacchus growled, before a small bit of concrete hit his shoulder. He looked up, puzzled, as a larger bit hit his face.

    Then the wall collapsed on him.

    "DAMN!" Xander yelled, watching the spectacle, "That's mystic orgasm on the ceiling level cool!"

    "And that's as cool as it gets!" Willow said excitedly.

    "Um." J said nervously as the Predator looked at them and began to walk for the hill.

    It turned when it heard the rubble move. Bacchus erupted from it a moment later, in a huge leap that carried him to the second story of the building. Standing he reached to his side and produced Xena's chakram. With a roar of rage, he threw it at the Predator with all of his might.

    It sparked when it hit the razor disk in mid-air. The chakram returned to Bacchus's hand, the razor disk to the Predator's. Bacchus smiled and looked to his side. There was a large steel girder sitting there. He strode to it and effortlessly lifted it. It was then launched at the Predator like a missile. The Predator ducked and rolled as the girder slammed into the ground like a giant lawn dart. As he came back to his feet, he threw a razor disk. Then another. Then another.  

    Bacchus's eyes went wide as the weapons approached. He evaded one, and then the second nicked his side. The third one embedded itself right into his chest. Then the Predator chortled as the other two razor disks entered his back on the return path. Bacchus fell forward to the ground below. The Predator then regarded the girder in the ground.

    Bacchus managed to get to his feet a few moments later. He growled and pulled the razor disks from his body and threw them to the ground. He looked in the direction of the Predator and was struck in the face with a loud clang and sent flying backwards through another concrete wall into the building. The Predator noted that the steel girder made an excellent makeshift club. He preferred his staff though. Tossing the girder to the ground, he lifted his staff and followed the now considerably worthy creature through the hole it had made.

    Years of hunting made, seeing in the darkness easy. He had killed Crites, Xenomorphs, and the strange creatures from the eclipsed world in total darkness before. This would be no different. The only thing that was a factor was that this creature for all intents and purposes was almost invisible to his normal spectrum of vision. He had only simple shapes and patterns to work with. But that mattered little. He had other senses to help counter this.

    He heard the sound of footsteps as he walked through the belly of this building. Very faint, but they were there. But he couldn't locate them. That was odd. Had he known the full capabilities of his foe, he may have known to look up on the ceiling where the vampire crawled. But alas, he did not.

    Bacchus leapt down at him with not even the slightest sound. The Predator fought to stay out of a powerful headlock. He truly did, but a slash to the face had made the Predator's priorities change. He felt his face, and in that simple, instinctual move, Bacchus's hands were around his neck. Powerful legs carried them upwards, slamming the Predator's head into the ceiling high above the floor, some twenty feet or more. Bacchus clung to it after hitting, letting the Predator fall to the ground. Bacchus laughed as the Predator slammed into the floor, his staff leaving his hand.

    "Bombs away." Bacchus said letting go.

    The Predator coughed up blood when Bacchus slammed into his chest with both feet. Bacchus laughed and then leapt to the ceiling again and repeated the motion. More blood was coughed up and a rib broke in the third and fourth attacks respectively. Bacchus leapt up to the ceiling and let go for a fifth time. But this time the Predator's hand clutched his staff.

    Bacchus roared in pain as he was impaled on the weapon. The Predator rose, holding the vampire on the staff. It growled and Bacchus could swear it almost chuckled.

    "Bombs…away" it growled before slinging Bacchus off of the staff and into a wall with a thud. Twirling its staff, the Predator walked forward again.

    Bacchus rose and examined a pipe on the wall. He grinned and gripped it hard as the Predator was near enough to strike. With a shrug, the pipe broke and hot steam shot out scalding the Predator. Shrieking in pain, it stepped backwards, holding its eyes with one hand. Bacchus rushed forward through the steam, healing from the burns it inflicted near instantly. Bacchus then tackled the Predator into a wall hard. Then he did it through another wall. Then he put the Predator on his shoulders and leapt into the air, slamming the Predator into the ceiling again, before bring it down into a backbreaker. Bacchus was confident he heard something break as he bent the alien over his knee. Then gripping a limp arm it tossed the Predator into and through another wall.

    The Predator got up, albeit it very slowly. It got a kick to the face that made it fall backwards. It staggered up again, getting another kick to its face. A backhand followed. Then another from the other hand. Bacchus gripped his neck and headbutted him fiercely. He then shoved the Predator into a wall. The Predator gathered his strength and tried to rush Bacchus, only to get a clothesline. Bacchus chuckled as he stomped the alien's chest, listening to another bone break.

    "Pathetic." Bacchus grinned as another foot stomped the Predator's chest, "Absolutely pathetic."

    "Yeah, your sense of fashion is!" Harmony roared as she leaped on Bacchus's back.

    She was thrown backwards like a rag doll.

    "And you are?" Bacchus asked.

    "The Big Bad?" Harmony replied, unsure and very terrified.

    Bacchus strode forward intent on making this idiot suffer for daring to even touching him. The Predator stood behind him. He rushed forward and impaled Bacchus on his staff and ran forward, lifting him and slamming him through a wall and back to the outside. He'd slap Harmony around later for trying to save him.

    Bacchus roared and pulled himself down the staff angrily slashing the face of the Predator. It dropped the staff and Bacchus landed on his feet. The Predator stood shakily, his adrenalin burst gone. Bacchus slashed his face again. The Predator struck out and slashed him with his blades. Bacchus growled and kneed the Predator between the legs. The Predator struck out again and connected with air. Not because of Bacchus's celerity this time, but because he was weakened to an incredible degree.

    Bacchus merely walked behind the alien hunter and looked to a fuse box not far away. Nodding with a smile, Bacchus grabbed the Predator's dreadlocks and threw him into it. Then with a shrug he pulled the staff from his body and threw it at the Predator like a javelin. Electricity arced as the staff went through the Predator and into the fuse box.

    The Predator roared in pain and knew in his heart, this was his last stand. He couldn't fend off this enemy. He was going to die. Yes, but he would with honor. He pulled himself off of the fuse box with a grunt and sank to his knees. Slowly, he began to pull the staff from his body, though not with the same ease as Bacchus had. Stained with both red and glowing blood, the staff went to the ground. The Predator looked up and saw Bacchus striding forward with an evil grin on his face. The wounded eyes of the Predator then fell to his left arm.

    He flipped the top of the gauntlet on his forearm and looked at the computer screen on it. A claw came down on a button. Then another. If he wasn't going to win this battle, then no one would. There was just one last digit to push. The Predator's right hand descended towards it, when he was kicked in the face again by Bacchus.

    Bacchus's powerful hand gripped the left arm of the Predator and smiled. He had this creature at his mercy, and he wasn't going to let that go to waste. He wrenched and pulled. He smiled when the arm dislocated and pulled harder. The Predator tried to keep the pain in, but eventually let a roar escape. He felt sinew tear. He felt muscle stretch. He felt veins and arteries break and tear.

    He cried like a wounded animal as Bacchus tore the arm from his body and blood sprayed everywhere. The Predator fell in a heap and closed its eyes in pain. Bacchus meanwhile licked at the stump of the left arm. He scowled.

    "Not a very good year." Bacchus said tossing the arm over his back, "It's over. Now get out of my sight."

    Bacchus kicked the Predator into the air, sending him flying. The Predator slammed into a steel support beam and hit the ground in a heap.

    Bacchus laughed wildly at the sight.

    "Hey!" a voice from behind called out.

    Bacchus looked up the hill behind him. Buffy stood there, wielding her stake. Spike at her side, in full game face and cockiest sneer. Willow glowed and radiated magick. Xander stood by her, acting like his Great Uncle Harry Callahan again. The Men in Black stood by them in silhouette, breaking out the big guns.

    "This isn't over yet." Buffy stated.

    "I wouldn't have it any other way." Bacchus grinned.


	13. And what will be left of them

    He fell backwards into nothing. He was to be nothing. He fell in battle dishonorably. He was unable to best his foe, unable to kill it. So now there was only nullity and oblivion. And he accepted this completely. He had failed and died. It was his fate to fade from life and descend into the inky darkness below. He had failed in the hunt, and failure is one thing that his people refused to tolerate.

    Thud.

    There was a sound. No more; a force.

    Thud.

    He felt it again.

    Thud. Thud.

    The Predator looked up from the abyss and dimly saw light. The force came from there. It felt it again, more furious, more potent, more frequent. The Predator looked down to the darkness below him and roared. He would not accept fate. He would defy it.

    Flying, he rose through the shadow, passing others from his race that fell in dishonorable death. He would not join them. His place was assured elsewhere. He would be in the house of honored light. He roared as he flew towards the light again and his roar pierced the dimensions. It was something to hear.

    "Oh my God! You're alive!" Harmony squealed in delight as she knelt beside the alien hunter.

    The Predator sat up, spitting fluorescent blood. Its eyes were weary and it struggled to breath.

    "You lost your arm." Harmony said looking at the stump, "Bummer."

    The Predator grunted and tried to stand of his own volition. He fell to his side before rising. Harmony reached down and gripped him. He roared at her. To his surprise she hissed back in her vampire features.

    "You big idiot! I'm trying to help you!"

    The Predator shoved her aside angrily and stood. He then turned his head to her. His look said what his words could not: I don't need help. Looking to the ground he lifted his spear and walked towards the sounds of battle. He wasn't done yet.

    Buffy grunted hard as she punched Bacchus right in face. Bacchus returned her blow sending her flying into metal pipes. Spike leapt at the elder vampire. Bacchus caught him and threw him across the site. Twin bursts of huge guns struck Bacchus in the back blowing an immense hole in him. The Men in Black smiled when they could see Spike through the hole. Bacchus fell to his knees.

    "That….HURT!" he screamed as he rose again and ran at the MIBs, the hole filling in and sealing at extraordinary speeds.

    He ran into an invisible wall and stumbled back, before seeing a smiling Willow Rosenberg standing nearby, pieces of metal wafting in the air beside her. The various pieces of construction equipment flew at the vampire as he turned and leapt and span to avoid each and every one. He even ran down the length of the steel girder she shot at him.

    "He's all yours Xander." Willow said mentally.

    "Got ya." Xander replied, taking aim with the Noisy Cricket from a good distance away atop the hill.

    He fired. He would have taken Bacchus's head off too if not for Bacchus's own intent at taking off Willow's own head. The blast just splintered one of the elder vampire's horns making it roar in rage but very little pain as he crouched and came at her.

    Still the smaller story is what happened as the tiny shard of bone went flying through the air. It would be seemingly unimportant, except for the minor detail that it hit the Predator's severed arm. It spun and flipped down the arm before hitting the computer console. Before activating the explosive on it.

    An alarm blared on K's watch. His eyes widened and he went uncharacteristically white.

    "OH SHIT!" K yelled.

    "What is it?" his partner, J, asked as his own watch beeped.

    "Aren't you familiar with Ordinance A-5 9765?" K asked.

    "Don't say shit like that! Just tell me what's up!" J yelled in response.

    "A class three explosive has just been activated!" K roared, "We have to find that or we're pretty much going to be nuked!"

    "NUKED?!" J squealed in reply.

    "Well on a smaller scale." K replied, "Help me find that alien's arm!"

    "What about the others?" J asked.

    K regarded Bacchus choking Spike one handed as he backhanded Buffy with the other.

    "They're fine. We deal with the alien aspects. They handle vampires." K said running off.

    Spike slammed into K. And J turned before being slashed across the chest wildly. Blood flew and the younger Man in Black slumped backwards to the ground.

    "OW! Damn!" J groaned as he dropped his gun.

    Bacchus smiled and kicked him in the face. He then picked up the gun and examined it. A being of his age didn't need long to figure out how to put it at the highest setting. Bacchus turned to Willow.

    "I really hate witches." The vampire smiled as he fired the weapon.

    The energy recoil made Bacchus cover his eyes. Willow likewise covered her eyes when the blast impacted her shield. It buckled, and finally caved in on itself, the force sending her backwards into the small hill. The force kicked dust up violently as Willow hit her head on the hard earth, cracking it open, making the blood flow. Likewise, Xander was knocked off his feet by the blast's impact.

    Bacchus smiled and looked to Spike rising above the unconscious K.

    "She's mine now." Bacchus smirked, firing the weapon.

    Spike had literally no time to avoid the burst of energy. Luckily Harmony was there though. She tackled her former Blondie Bear to the ground as the energy wave passed over them and obliterated the partially constructed building. Spike looked up at her in shock.

    "Why?" he asked.

    "What? It's not like I want you to be a ghost. That'd really suck." Harmony admitted.

    "Touching. But it all matters little." Bacchus said taking aim with the gun at them.

    There was a sound that sliced the air. Then there was a feeling that sliced the neck of Bacchus making him fire in the air, sending a huge wave of energy into the sky like a flare. He threw the weapon to the ground and felt the back of his head with a jerking manner. He recoiled his hand to find Xena's Chakram had been imbedded into him.

    "That was lame man. If you're half as badassed as you say, you would have noticed me taking that when you knocked me away." Buffy quipped as she stood in a battle stance behind the demon.

    Bacchus turned and chuckled.

    "Enterprising little darling aren't you?" Bacchus asked.

    "You kidding? We've got the whole first season." Buffy remarked.

    "To the death then?" Bacchus asked, baring his fangs.

    "You sure you know what a Slayer is?" Buffy replied.

    Bacchus replied with a charge.

    K coughed and sat up earning looks from Harmony.

    "Hey! Snack time!" Harmony said vamping out.

    "Touch him you die." Spike sighed.

    "You'd kill me for that?" Harmony turned to Spike, pouting in her game face.

    "No. But he would." Spike explained.

    Harmony turned back and saw K pointing a Deatomizer at her.

    "Well poop. I never get to feed in this town. I'm going to go to L.A. after this. Wolfram and Hart made me a sweet deal and I get all the beach bums and boy toys I can eat so meh." Harmony finished with a raspberry.

    "I'd kill her but we have bigger problems. We have a very destructive bomb ready to go off in this vicinity and wipe us all out and maybe cause dimensional damage to the Revolving Door…Hellmouth…whatever." K stated as he stood.

    "That sucks. How long we have?" Spike asked.

    "Well…how long was I out?" K asked.

    "'Bout a minute."

    "Okay so this is our punishment in hell then because by all rights we should be dead now. The bomb should have gone off unless…"

    "Unless what?" Spike and Harmony asked.

    "Unless it was deactivated." K said, pondering the situation.

    Buffy spat blood as Bacchus punched her hard. She threw a kick which was caught and she heard a snap just under her scream. Bacchus threw her hard to the ground and pounced on her. His huge hand wrapped about her face and slammed it into the ground again.

    Buffy brought her knee up into Bacchus's groin, which produced the expected howl of pain followed by the glare and hiss from the large vampire. Saliva dripped into Buffy's face as Bacchus spoke.

    "I really, REALLY HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT!"

    Buffy headbutted him producing a slash across her forehead but also breaking the fangs of the vampire.

    "If you're going to kill me, just do it and spare me your stupid talking! Not to mention your breath!" Buffy growled.

    "Fine." Bacchus growled as his fangs regenerated.

    He knelt in closer and began to nip at the Slayer's skin with his teeth. Yes, she was his. It would be so good now. So decadent. The blood of a Slayer was always the greatest boon of the struggle, and it would be his. Well, it WOULD have been if not for the Predator throwing his spear through the vampire.

    Bacchus stood and roared at the alien having the idiocy to come back for more. Before he was floored by the Predator using its own severed arm as a bludgeoning weapon. The Predator hissed and smiled. He was glad he caught the bomb that brief moments before it would have exploded. True, it would have given him an honorable place in the halls of the afterlife, but this way gave him so much more glory. Not to mention it was much more fun!

    Bacchus struck out and slashed at the throat of the alien, making it bleed and drop to its knees in pain. He growled down at this pest and went to deliver to the killing blow, the strike to rend the head from this brute. At which point Buffy leapt on the demon's back and sent Mr. Pointy down towards his heart as fast as she could. Bacchus flipped the Slayer over his back and knocked Mr. Pointy to her hand before she could deliver the killing blow. She slammed into the ground, making small clouds of dirt rise. But Mr. Pointy didn't hit the ground.

    It jammed into the chest of Bacchus going deep, as the Predator's hand punched through the ribcage jamming the stake right into the disbelieving vampire's heart.

    "Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic." The Predator said in a warped version of Bacchus's own.

    Bacchus's flesh and skin shot out at high speeds, unraveling into dust; streams and rivers of it poured off of the demon. Bacchus screamed loud and frantic as he fell to his knees, the cyclone of dust swirling about him as more and more of his skin disappeared. Bones dropped to the ground a moment later, remnants more than any younger vampire would leave, but still it wasn't enough to serve Bacchus.

    You could say the Predator smiled grotesquely before he fell onto the skeleton and into unconsciousness.

    "Damn. I wanted to do that." Buffy sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

    "Buffy!" Spike said diving to her side.

    His lips crushed hers and they responded in kind.

    "I love you." Spike said relieved she was alright.

    "Love you too. Carry me home?" Buffy replied.

    "Yes love." Spike smirked, "Now next time some big evil thing comes after you and threatens to kill you at a given point in me, PLEASE, tell us."

    "Yes MOTHER."

    "Hey! You guys okay?!" Xander called from the top of the hill.

    "Yeah we're good!" Buffy replied looking up, "You?"

    "Half and half." Xander called back.

    "Check on Willow! She's somewhere on the hill!" Buffy said looking at the small hill, now which was pretty much loose dirt.

    "Got ya!" Xander said as he tried to gracefully walk down the hill. He failed miserably and rolled down to the bottom, getting himself very dirty in the process.

    A lump of dirt rose and Willow looked down at him.

    "Did we win?" she asked.

    "Nope. We lost. Everybody's dead."

    "You're just joking aren't you?"

    "Am I Wills? Am I?"

    Buffy rose and held to Spike as Agent K was helping carry J along to meet them.

    "Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!" J spat.

    "Crybaby." K replied.

    "So we won." Buffy stated.

    "Yep. Looks like." K replied.

    "You call this winning?" J asked, "If these damned suits weren't so durable my guts would be hanging out all over the place!"

    "Actually, that stroke he hit you with wouldn't have disemboweled you, just torn into your lungs to make you drown in your own blood. Now to disembowel someone you have to…I'm doing it again aren't I?" Spike asked.

    "Sweetie, shut up." Buffy said shivering at her lover's words before looking at K.

    "So you going to wipe our minds now?" Buffy asked.

    K looked to his pocket, then the others, then his pocket again.

    "The hell with it. You live HERE; I figure you can keep a secret." K shrugged.

    "Aw thanks." Buffy smiled, "What about him?"

    Buffy motioned to the still breathing Predator.

    "I am personally kicking his ass off planet." J sighed painfully.

    "Cool." Buffy laughed with another smile.

    Then she stopped smiling and looked around as if something were troubling her.

    "Wasn't Harmony here?"

    "Well yeah…where'd she scamper off to?" Spike asked.

    "Hmm. What's this button do?" Harmony questioned herself as she drove away in the MIB car.

    Then promptly screamed as the car rocketed off at lightning speeds along the highway towards Los Angeles.    


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

    Agent K looked at the town behind them one last time. It was bizarre, almost as bizarre as his life. He supposed that was why he allowed them to keep their memories of the last few days. The people he and J had met here were truly dedicated and in fearless in the face of evil. They were also insane. So it figured that they were too like him to have their minds wiped.

    He only wished he could deal with that vampire girl who had stolen his car. Still she had mentioned Wolfram and Hart. K knew of them. They were not to be trifled with even if you were the Men in Black. Still, between the evil law firm, the Pride, the Champions, and a new presence in Los Angeles K was satisfied she would meet her end relatively soon. That brought a smile to his face.

    "Hey K! Zed's sent us a new ride!" J yelled from behind him.

    K turned and walked to his youthful partner with a spring in his step. He observed the other MIBs who were there as they conversed and spoke.

    "I guess we're done here." J half stated, half asked.

    "I guess so." K said looking to the sky, "We got our boy to leave and the town hasn't been flattened, much less the planet. I'd say we filled our quota for the day."

    "Let's head back to New York then." J smirked as he began to go for the driver's side.

    He heard the buzzing sound of a Deatomizer and turned to see K pointing it at him.

    "Of course I was joking. You can drive if you want to." J smiled.

    K lowered his weapon.

    "Good. We're stopping at Graceland on the way back." K stated as he walked to the car and opened the door.

    "Yeah, take a black guy into Tennessee. That's smart." J sighed.

    "Just wanted to prove to you once and for all that Elvis was an alien." K said as J closed the passenger side door.

    "And how do you plan on that?"

    "Well, given his planet's time…tonight is the anniversary of when he faked his death. He ought to be beaming some loyalists of his there a holo-feed and we being who we are can get in and witness it all." K smirked.

    "Look how thrilled I am." J groaned.

    "Hey Slick, we've earned a vacation."

    "Yeah. I haven't had one since I joined up."

    "Don't get used to them. You get one every ten years and they're over in three hours."

    "Joy."

    The bar was buzzing with activity. The Slayer and her group had apparently bested ANOTHER great evil that had come to do battle with her. The demon community was rightfully nervous now. This was bad. Well scratch that: it was abysmal. This woman was a thorn in the side of every demon in town. She had to be stopped.

    "I say that we torch her place while she's asleep. Make it look like a house fire." A large winged demon said.

    "Maybe form a mob. Burn a cross on her front lawn." A slime covered creature said.

    "Yes because I just love being around crosses and fire." A vampire chimed in, rolling its eyes.

    "Why don't we just leave her alone?" a large ape looking demon added, "She's not so bad."

    "Not so bad? Are you a pussy or just incredibly stupid?" the winged demon asked.

    "Hey. She saved my ass a few months ago when those Cenobites rolled into town. Damned S and M bitch gutted me. I barely survived till the Slayer came in. Not to mention she's stopped I can't count how many Apocalypses since she's been here." The ape replied.

    "What's your point?" the vampire asked.

    "I'm not some demon fundamentalist or zealot. I don't want the world to end. You can't say you actually want the earth sucked into Hell or the First to wipe it out. Oh I forgot. Vampires don't care about anything but feeding." The ape answered.

    "You stinkin' racist!" the vampire growled.

    "Hey, you're the one without a conscious. Not me." The ape said again.

    "I'm with Klobrax." Clem stated as he walked into the argument, "The Slayer's not that bad. She's kind of nice too as long as you're not killing people. You stay out of her way then she stays out of yours."

    "I'm a vampire! I have to kill things to eat!"

    "Spike's a vampire and he doesn't kill anymore." Clem retorted as he drunk a beer.

    "Chips and souls don't count." The slimy demon replied.

    "Look, all I'm saying is that we should try to get along. I mean look at us here. We have demons and vampires here. Two kinds coming together. We couldn't do that a hundred years ago even when the Mayor tried to have us get along." Klobrax the ape-like demon stated, "But here we are now sharing some drinks. And ya know, I got some friends that are human. Willy's human and we've bullshitted with him for years. We can get along."

    "But she's a Slayer!" the vampire growled, "Primarily a vampire Slayer at that! How do I get along with that? She's killed hundreds of my kind!"

    "Well if you didn't kill people that'd probably be a start."

    Every demon head (and heads too) turned and watched the Slayer as she waltzed into the bar. One vampire began to even try and make a move on her until his sire held him back. Spike walked in behind Buffy, his duster swaying. One alone was bad enough, but the both of them were crazy to try and handle. A woman in black leather followed them with a matching duster and face paint. A crow perched on her shoulder. This was the Crow that the demons had heard so much about. One of the dead seekers of vengeance. Her friends called her Tara.

    Three more followed her. A tall muscular black man with a stake in his hand, a shorter brunette who moved almost as gracefully as the Slayer, and a reasonably tall black haired man who seemed to be uneasy but also armed.

    Finally there was the red witch that still had various members of the demon community trembling. She was rarely seen but when she was it was never good. She was power upon power. Her rage had nearly torn the town apart, and while still somewhat inexperienced, her power and skill were growing exponentially. She KNEW the Sorcerer Supreme.

    "Now then. I'm glad I got your attention. Willow?" Buffy said to her friend.

    Willow snapped her fingers as small sparks flew from them.

    "It's done." She replied to Buffy.

    "Beautiful. My friend here just linked me up to every demon, vampire, ghost, monster and anything else in town so you can all see what I have to say. Frankly, I've had a rough night. I have those quite a lot. Could be the funny fact that I've been called as a Slayer. Silly thought maybe but it passed through my pretty little head. But even though it was rough, I'm still standing. Another one bites that dust. How many does that make now? The Master, the Mayor, Adam and Glory are dead." She said, "I even defeated the First. THE FIRST!"

    She  had of course lied slightly at Glory's demise seeing as how she was kind of ruling Hell at the moment, but she wanted their attention.

    "The Slayer of Slayers, Spike, stands at my left. The most powerful Wicca in the western hemisphere is at my right. One quick phone call and Angelus will be right here at my side too. If I have any enemies left they're not in this town because they're afraid of me. And rightfully so. Bacchus is dead too. Hmm, let's see Bacchus is gone, I killed the Master, I killed Lothos, and I even managed to beat Dracula himself once. So what kind of picture am I painting here?"

    Buffy walked forward a bit.

    "Don't fuck with the Slayer. That's what I'm trying to say. I've been reactive long enough but I can't afford that anymore. I'm going to be proactive. I'll still hunt, but I won't just hunt at night. I'll come after you in the day. I'll drag a vampire out in the sun and send his ashes to anyone else that decides to be a tough guy. If say you're a demon that can only die by drowning: you're going into the ocean in concrete shoes. Some new big aggressive demon rolls into town, I'm be on him like white on rice before he can even think to come after me or my friends. You decide to play nice though and I won't bother you. You got every bit as much right to live here as me or any humans, but you violate that right by killing. From now on I am the law in this town and we're the demon police." Buffy commanded.

    The vampire who had been arguing a little earlier had had quite enough of this and quickly grabbed a pool cue. In a flash it was severed in half as Xena's chakram returned to Buffy's hand.

    "I am not joking." Buffy glared, giving the vampire a look that froze his blood, "From now on you won't have to wait for some new Big Bad to show up. From now on, the Slayer IS the Big Bad here."

    The Predator docked with the mother ship. He had gone on a hunt and been victorious. He was not longer a Hunt Master, he was a Warrior now. A true Warrior.

    Exiting his shuttle, he walked amongst others of his kind. All were silent, observing him, observing the lack of an arm. He knew they saw him as a cripple but he didn't care. He had won a pivotal battle and taken glorious prey. To the pits with them.

    Slowly he walked through the mists to his progenitor, who was patiently waiting. He lowered his head in honor to the one who had helped bring him into the universe. His progenitor looked him over, taking in the wounds that had been inflicted upon him. With silent words and motions they had a conversation. The younger Predator looked to his progenitor and the older one nodded.

    If a smile could be seen, the younger Predator had one as he was marked as a Warrior: the highest rank in their race. He was equal to his progenitor now. So he turned and looked to his soldiers, his hunters. They who had been critical of him, they who had nearly scoffed when they saw he was a cripple. Now he had the satisfaction that they knew he was the most dangerous cripple on the ship. He looked to their eyes and from one to another for several tense moments.

    Then he raised the skull of Bacchus with his good arm and howled wildly. And the howls of the other Predators joined him, echoing throughout the ship and into the boundless corridors of infinity. Life goes on.

The End.


End file.
